Elemental Nickel

Everything you need to know about the element Nickel! Pretty brief, but it covers a lot.

Name: Nickel
Symbol: Ni
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Atomic Number: 28
Atomic Mass: 58.69
Group Name: Iron (and the group number is 10)
Classification: Transition Metal

Physical Properties: It is a solid at 298 K, is very metallic, shiny, and silvery. Hard. Interesting fact: With only a kilogram of nickel, it can be turned into three hundred kilometers of nickel wire. Density = 8.90g/cm3. The boiling point is 3186 K, and the melting point (much lower), is 1728 K. Malleable and very ductile. Good conductor.

Chemical Properties: Can be used as a catalyst for select reactions, is artificially combined with glass to make it green, and is alloyed with many different other elements/compounds to make them all-around stronger.

Discovery: While it had been known about for a long time, it was Axel Fredrik Cronstedt who discovered that it was an element. He named the element nickel after what the Germans had called it, “Old Nick’s Copper”, because they mistook it for copper ore. Old Nick is what the Germans call the devil, so nickel is named after the devil.

Purification Process: Most nickel is mined in Canada, where a large deposit is believed to have come from a meteor strike. However, little nickel exists in its elemental form. It is usually extracted from pentlandite.

Industrial Uses:

Is used in many alloys, such as:
Alloyed with steel to make armor-type objects and devices
Alloyed with copper to make pipes
Alloyed with other metals to make magnets

Hazards: When consumed (whether by eating, drinking, or touching) in large quantities, nickel can have severe health hazards, such as respiratory failure, increased chances of certain cancers, heart disorders, and asthma. Also, offspring can have birth defects.