Nickel is a versatile metal whose properties were long over-looked. Today it is one of the world’s top industrial metals.
Routinely discarded
Nickel was once seen as a nuisance by-product of copper mining and was often thrown away. Miners in Germany used to blame the sprite ‘Nickel’ for tricking them with worthless ore that resembled copper.
The value of nickel is discovered
In 1751 the Swedish chemist Axel Fredrik Cronstedt isolated a silvery-white metal while studying a mineral he thought was copper ore. He named it ‘nickel’ after “Kuperfernickel,” which roughly translates in German as ‘Devil’s copper’.
Nickel as an alloy
Nickel is a key alloying element in stainless steel, which is used in everything from kitchen sinks, saucepans and cutlery to medical instruments and skyscrapers, thanks to its strength and resistance to rust. Zinc nickel coating, a specialist process performed by specialists like https://www.poeton.co.uk/surface-treatments/plating/zinc-nickel-plating, is vital to the automotive and aerospace industries, where long-term corrosion resistance is essential. Nickel also forms special alloys like Invar and Kovar, which barely expand when heated. This makes them perfect for precision instruments, electronics and optical devices, where stability is crucial.
Nickel in batteries
Nickel is vital to energy storage. It’s a core component in rechargeable batteries such as nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride, helping power everything from power tools to hybrid vehicles.
Nickel in everyday life
Nickel is used for the US five-cent coin, which is why 5 cents is known as ‘a nickel’. It is also widely used in products as diverse as guitar strings, dental braces, heart valves and jewellery.