Nickel

Nickel is a shiny metal.

It looks like silver. It can have a gold color, too.

This metal is very hard. It is also easy to shape.

Nickel is used to make coins.

Most nickel is used to make steel. This helps the steel stay strong.

Some nickel comes from space. It is found inside rocks from space. These rocks fall to Earth.

Nickel can also make magnets. These magnets are used in many tools.

Nickel is a very useful metal.

Nickel is a shiny metal. It looks silvery-white with a hint of gold.

It is very hard. It is also easy to shape into new forms. This is called being ductile.

Nickel is found in many places. Some nickel comes from space. It is found inside meteorites, which are rocks from space.

Most nickel on Earth is deep inside. It is part of our planet's core.

This metal helps make many things. About 68% of all nickel goes into making stainless steel. This is a type of steel that resists rust.

We also use nickel for plating. This means covering an object in a thin layer of metal. Nickel is used in coins and in batteries for electric cars.

Nickel can also be magnetic. It is one of only four elements that are ferromagnetic at room temperature. This means it can be used to make magnets.

One kind of magnet is called alnico. It is made using nickel, aluminum, and cobalt. This metal is very important for our modern world.

Nickel is a silvery-white metal with a slight golden tinge. It is a hard and ductile metal, which means it can be shaped without breaking.

This metal is very special because it is one of only four elements that are ferromagnetic at room temperature. Ferromagnetic means the metal can become a magnet. Other elements that do this are iron, cobalt, and gadolinium. Because of this, nickel is used to make permanent magnets. One type of magnet is called alnico, which is a mix of aluminum, nickel, and cobalt.

Nickel works in many ways to protect objects. When pure nickel touches air, it can react with it. However, large pieces react very slowly. This happens because a thin layer called a passivation layer forms on the surface. This layer is made of nickel oxide. It acts like a shield to prevent further corrosion, or rusting.

Nickel is also used for plating. Plating is when a thin layer of metal covers another object. This helps the object stay strong and shiny. Some people may even have a nickel allergy if they touch plated objects.

People have used nickel for a very long time. We can trace its use back to 3500 BCE using natural nickel-iron from space.

The element was officially identified in 1751. A scientist named Axel Fredrik Cronstedt found it in Sweden. He was working in cobalt mines in Los, Hälsingland. At first, he thought the ore was actually a copper mineral. The name nickel comes from a mischievous sprite in German miner mythology. Miners used the name because the ore looked like copper but produced no copper.

Nickel is found in many different places around the world. Most nickel in the Earth's crust exists as oxides. However, the most important ores for industry are sulfides, like pentlandite.

Major production sites include Sulawesi in Indonesia and the Sudbury region in Canada. Other large sites are in New Caledonia, Western Australia, and Norilsk, Russia.

Much of the nickel on our planet is actually deep inside the Earth. Scientists believe it makes up the outer and inner cores. Some nickel also comes from meteorites that fell from space. In 1799, a chemist named Joseph-Louis Proust found nickel in a meteorite from Argentina.

We use nickel to make many things we see every day. About 68% of the world's nickel is used to make stainless steel. This is a strong metal that does not rust easily.

Another 10% is used for alloys made with copper or nickel. We also use it for plating and in foundries. About 4% of nickel goes into rechargeable batteries. This includes the batteries used in electric vehicles.

Even tiny amounts of nickel are important for life. Some plants and tiny living things use nickel in their enzymes to stay healthy.

Nickel is a chemical element with the symbol Ni and the atomic number 28. It is characterized as a silvery-white, lustrous transition metal with a slight golden tinge.

Physically, nickel is hard, malleable, and ductile, meaning it can be shaped without breaking. It also possesses relatively high electrical and thermal conductivity for a transition metal. One of its most notable physical properties is ferromagnetism. Nickel is one of only four elements that are ferromagnetic at or near room temperature, alongside iron, cobalt, and gadolinium. This means it can be strongly attracted to magnets or become a magnet itself.

The chemical behavior of nickel is defined by its ability to form a passivation layer. While pure nickel is chemically reactive, large pieces react very slowly with air under standard conditions. This slow reaction occurs because a thin layer of nickel oxide forms on the surface. This layer acts as a protective shield that prevents further corrosion.

In terms of its atomic structure, nickel has a face-centered cubic unit cell. It has a lattice parameter of 0.352 nm and an atomic radius of 0.124 nm. This specific crystal structure remains stable even under extreme pressures of at least 70 GPa. Scientists also study its electron configuration, which involves the 3d and 4s energy levels. There is a scientific debate regarding which configuration has the lower energy, as the two states overlap significantly.

Nickel is found in several distinct forms and mineral types. In the Earth's crust, most nickel exists as oxides. These include laterite, which contains minerals like limonite, and garnierite. However, the most economically important nickel ores are sulfides. A primary example is pentlandite, a mineral that often exists in solid solutions with iron.

Another important form is found in natural alloys called kamacite and taenite. Kamacite is usually composed of 90% to 95% iron, while taenite contains between 20% and 65% nickel. These alloys are frequently found in nickel-iron meteorites from space.

The history of nickel discovery involves both mythology and careful chemistry. The name "nickel" actually comes from a mischievous sprite in German miner mythology. Miners used this name for ores like kupfernickel because they looked like copper but produced no copper.

The element was officially isolated and classified in 1751 by Axel Fredrik Cronstedt. He discovered it in the cobalt mines of Los, Hälsingland, Sweden, though he initially mistook the ore for a copper mineral. Later, in 1799, the French chemist Joseph-Louis Proust detected nickel in a meteorite from Campo del Cielo, Argentina. This helped scientists understand that nickel is often found in combination with iron in meteoric material.

Nickel production is a massive global industry with specific geographic hubs. Major production sites include Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the Sudbury region in Canada. Other significant areas include New Caledonia, Western Australia, and Norilsk, Russia.

It is estimated that land-based resources averaging 1% nickel or greater comprise at least 130 million tons. About 60% of these resources are found in laterites, while 40% are in sulfide deposits. While we mine it from the crust, much of the Earth's nickel is actually located deep within the planet. Geophysics suggests that an iron-nickel mixture composes both the outer and inner cores of the Earth.

Modern society relies on nickel for a wide variety of industrial applications. The largest use is for stainless steel, which accounts for approximately 68% of world production.

Another 10% is used for nickel-based or copper-based alloys, and 9% is used for plating. About 4% of nickel is used in rechargeable batteries, including those found in electric vehicles.

Nickel is also used to create Alnico permanent magnets. These magnets have an intermediate strength that sits between iron-based magnets and rare-earth magnets. Additionally, nickel is used in coins and as a catalyst for chemical processes like hydrogenation.

Beyond industry, nickel plays a role in both biology and deep space science. For some microorganisms and plants, nickel is an essential nutrient. It is used as an active site in certain enzymes to help biological processes function. In the stars, nickel is part of a complex cycle. While nickel-62 has the highest binding energy per nucleon of any nuclide, nickel is not the most abundant heavy element in the universe. This is because the high rate of photodisintegration in stellar interiors causes iron to be more abundant. However, studying nickel isotopes like nickel-59 can provide scientists with insights into the early history and origin of our Solar System.