What is Nickel: Definition and 42 Discussions

Nickel is a chemical element with the symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile. Pure nickel, powdered to maximize the reactive surface area, shows a significant chemical activity, but larger pieces are slow to react with air under standard conditions because an oxide layer forms on the surface and prevents further corrosion (passivation). Even so, pure native nickel is found in Earth's crust only in tiny amounts, usually in ultramafic rocks, and in the interiors of larger nickel–iron meteorites that were not exposed to oxygen when outside Earth's atmosphere.
Meteoric nickel is found in combination with iron, a reflection of the origin of those elements as major end products of supernova nucleosynthesis. An iron–nickel mixture is thought to compose Earth's outer and inner cores.Use of nickel (as a natural meteoric nickel–iron alloy) has been traced as far back as 3500 BCE. Nickel was first isolated and classified as a chemical element in 1751 by Axel Fredrik Cronstedt, who initially mistook the ore for a copper mineral, in the cobalt mines of Los, Hälsingland, Sweden. The element's name comes from a mischievous sprite of German miner mythology, Nickel (similar to Old Nick), who personified the fact that copper-nickel ores resisted refinement into copper. An economically important source of nickel is the iron ore limonite, which often contains 1–2% nickel. Nickel's other important ore minerals include pentlandite and a mixture of Ni-rich natural silicates known as garnierite. Major production sites include the Sudbury region in Canada (which is thought to be of meteoric origin), New Caledonia in the Pacific, and Norilsk in Russia.
Nickel is slowly oxidized by air at room temperature and is considered corrosion-resistant. Historically, it has been used for plating iron and brass, coating chemistry equipment, and manufacturing certain alloys that retain a high silvery polish, such as German silver. About 9% of world nickel production is still used for corrosion-resistant nickel plating. Nickel-plated objects sometimes provoke nickel allergy. Nickel has been widely used in coins, though its rising price has led to some replacement with cheaper metals in recent years.
Nickel is one of four elements (the others are iron, cobalt, and gadolinium) that are ferromagnetic at approximately room temperature. Alnico permanent magnets based partly on nickel are of intermediate strength between iron-based permanent magnets and rare-earth magnets. The metal is valuable in modern times chiefly in alloys; about 68% of world production is used in stainless steel. A further 10% is used for nickel-based and copper-based alloys, 7% for alloy steels, 3% in foundries, 9% in plating and 4% in other applications, including the fast-growing battery sector, including those in electric vehicles (EVs). As a compound, nickel has a number of niche chemical manufacturing uses, such as a catalyst for hydrogenation, cathodes for batteries, pigments and metal surface treatments. Nickel is an essential nutrient for some microorganisms and plants that have enzymes with nickel as an active site.

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  1. M

    Chemical Composition of nickel alloy

    I ask the foundry to cast nickel alloys and I took a piece metal to do a chemical test. The element composition of the nickel alloy is Ni 70% Cr 12% Fe 1.2% Mo 2.5%...so far they all are in the allowable range. But I found the alloy also contains W 0.004% ! Is this the normal condition ? ? I...
  2. S

    Why aren't nickel and silver soluble in each other?

    Hume–Rothery rules seem to be moderately satisfied for nickel to readily dissolve in silver. Silver has a radius of 144, valence of 1 and an electronegativity of 1.93. Nickel has a radius of 124, valence of 2 and an electronegativity of 1.91. Both elements have a fcc crystal structure. I read...
  3. M

    Titanium Nickel Alloy: Strength & Durability

    Also how bullet proof is it? I know it is a titanium nickel alloy so I’m guessing it may be strong with the titanium in it.
  4. N

    I Why do stars only produce up to iron and nickel

    I know it's a common question but I've found no answers online so far. My professor has made a point out of saying that fusion reactions after iron and nickel do release energy but just not enough to keep the star from imploding. This didn't make sense to me. How would fission release energy if...
  5. Y

    Where can I purchase some iron and nickel foams?

    Good day, everyone. I'm looking for some iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni) foams for a project I'm working on. Any help to find a vendor with affordable pricing is much appreciated. Thank you.
  6. Daniel Tales

    Imagine You're Shrunk Down to a Size of a Nickel

    Hi,My professor introduced this question (attached files) to us a couple weeks ago and gave some brief explanation saying that even though our mass will reduce our muscles should be relatively stronger than our bigger form and we should be able to simply jump out of the blender. I was wondering...
  7. A

    Electroless nickel coating of confined spaces

    Hi, I am conducting some experiments with the electroless nickel (EN) coating of the free machining brass (high lead contain material, which is not good for coating but I must use this material). After surface cleaning and etching procedure, once the brass is submerged in the EN coating...
  8. A

    Electroless nickel plating - surface preparation

    Hi, I am conducting the experiments with the electroless nickel plating of the brass (CZ121). I have read a lot of the literature about this process prior to the lab tests. All brass surface cleaning procedures that I have came across involve the electroless cleaning (I understand why)...
  9. A

    Electroless nickel plating problem

    Hi, I have a brass components (brass grade CZ121) which require electroless nickel plating (not electroplating). I cannot get electroless nickel coating for my brass component from regular coating companies because of its complex geometry. Along with air agitation, special jig is required to...
  10. K

    Is EN353 cold forgeable as much as SCM420

    Hi, We are doing a gear box for a two wheeler (for the first time). Most of our benchmarks are of Suzuki and Honda bikes. All their gears are made of SCM420. Surprising part is these gear teeth are formed by cold forging. No machining at all! Now, I was comparing the chemical composition of...
  11. T

    Which metals can nickel reduce?

    Homework Statement Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution If a metal was to plate out, it means nickel is a stronger reductant therefore more negative standard reduction potential. 3 metals have a higher standard reduction potential so they will are weaker reductants than nickel. So is...
  12. P

    Adding Nickel to Zinc Sulphate Solution

    hi chemists, my chemistry is a bit rusty. i am doing some basic DIY zinc plating using a acid solution with some zinc sulfate in solution. basic recipe is like this: net 2L Epsom Salt 128 gram Zinc Sulfate 43 gram <-- use the ~99% pure stuff White Vinegar 85 ml Sugar 27 gram Tap Water 1915 ml...
  13. Stephanus

    Electron shell, Oxidation number

    Dear PF Forum, I think I have asked too many question for one day. I'm trying to understand antioxidant and free radicals. But, first I'd like to understand oxidation number. The oxidation number for hydrogen is +1 or -1. I can understand that. Either Hydrogen must lost one electron or gains one...
  14. I

    How current flows through battery nickel plate -- Diagram shown

    I'm going to weld nickel plates/tabs to 18650 cells. Each two batteries will be welded together with a nickel plate. In the center of the nickel plate will be a copper wire to take the 20 amp current flowing from the two cells at 10 amps per cell. Since I have .2 mm thick nickel plates, to get...
  15. S

    Shell & Tube Falling Film Evaporator Nickel Tubes Collapsed

    An unfortunate incident happened at our triple effect caustic evaporator (32w.t% to 51w.t%). The third effect (highlighted red) where major steam (~12-13bar depending on flowrate) assisted evaporation take place, here for some reason Ni tubes get severely collapsed, while the plant was offline...
  16. R

    How to make nickel gallium compund? Basic advice / direction

    Hi, I wish to make Ni5Ga3 for use in an experiment, it needs to be in powder form. Please could someone direct me to a place where the methodology can be found? I usually order chemicals online, but my supplier (Sigma) does not have this compound so I need to make it. Also I need to consider...
  17. P

    Find the mass of Ag around the Nickel pole

    Homework Statement A nickel pole is put in an AgNO3 solution with volume 50ml and concentration 0.1 mol/litre until the concrentration is 0.02 mole/litre. Find the mass of Ag that is put around the Nickel pole. Homework Equations 2AgNo3+Ni->Ni(NO3)2+2Ag number of moles= concrentration*volume...
  18. J

    Calculating Speed of Sound in Nickel using Atomic Properties

    Homework Statement From WebAssign: One mole of nickel (6.02e23 atoms) has a mass of 59 g, and its density is 8.9 g/cm3. You have a bar of nickel 2.44 m long, with a square cross section, 1.8 mm on a side. You hang the rod vertically and attach a 45 kg mass to the bottom, and you observe that...
  19. Borek

    Melting Nickel Ball: Temperature & Radius Effects

    How far down can a nickel ball of radius r and temperature Tn melt into the ice block of temperature Ti? Watch the video and state your assumtpions...
  20. I

    Difference between Lithium Ion and Nickel Metal Hydride

    Obviously there are MANY differences, but I'm curious about one in particular. In an article I read, the creator used NiMH batteries because of their high charge density, but also because they do not require a charge controller and voltage regulator in the circuitry. Why is this, and is there...
  21. U

    Cobalt decays to Nickel - Why is this suppressed?

    Homework Statement (a) Show maximum energy transferred in compton scattering is as such. (b) Identify what the peaks are and why some decays are suppressed. (c) How do you distinguish between these 2 decays[/B] Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution Part(a) Bookwork. For completeness...
  22. M

    Calculating Percent Nickel in DMG-Ni Complexes: Where Did I Go Wrong?

    What I need to figure out: We did a gravimetric analysis lab and I have masses for the DMG-Ni complexes that we recovered but I need to find the percent nickel in each sample. Relevant Equations: I believe you take the mass of the DMG-Ni complex sample and multiply that by the mass ratio of...
  23. russ_watters

    Is My Nickel Actually Made of Gold?

    So, WTH is going on here? I received this otherwise ordinary-seeming nickel as change for my lunch today. It appears to be made of gold (plated?). I didn't make the scratches on it; my guess would be that some other curious individual was as confused as I am and decided to see if it was just...
  24. J

    Calculating Magnetic Moment of Nickel per Kg

    Homework Statement For nickel, which has an atomic magnetic moment of 0.61 and an atomic weight of 58.7, calculate the magnetic moment per kilogram of the material Homework Equations None given The Attempt at a Solution Do I not need density to use formula for saturation...
  25. S

    Will a magnet lift a very thin coated sheet of nickel?

    Hi, I am trying to work out if a small magnet can be used to hold a thin sample that I have. The sample is flat and about 10mm x 10mm in size. The sample is a layer of copper, with nickel plated on that. There is then a gold coating on the nickel. The copper is 0.05mm thick, the nickel 0.005mm...
  26. S

    Could a spy satellite spot a nickel on the ground?

    As I understand it, if Hubble was turned on the Earth in a geo-stationary orbit it would struggle to pick out a couple of tanks on the ground. So how large would a telescopic satellite need to be (geo-stationary) to pick out a nickel on the ground? Is it even technically possible? I gather...
  27. O

    Type 1a Supernova - linking Nickel decay to luminosity

    Homework Statement I have a question in my coursework where I don't know where to start. I've got Nickel decaying post the explosion, I've got a time t, I've got an energy release per nucleus of Nickel, I've got a decay constant, I've got a light curve decay half life, and I've got a...
  28. P

    Is the Immune Response to Nickel Metal Responsible for Nickel Allergies?

    Nickel allergy is a very common allergy. It causes contact dermatitis. But why is it allergenic, being a metal. Recall that allergies are caused by an immune response. What exactly are you reacting to -- the nickel metal itself??
  29. D

    Nickel in Coffee Cup Calorimeter (Small Error)

    Homework Statement nickel weights 28.2g and is heated to 100°C 150g water at 13.5°C After the nickel is placed in the water, the final temperature of the metal and water is 25°C. Find the specific heat capacity of nickel Homework Equations Q=mcΔT The Attempt at a Solution...
  30. J

    Nickel - Meteorite Separation

    Hi everyone! I'm looking to separate nickel from a meteorite sample and I have a pretty solid plan... however I'd like to know if there are any disadvantages of using the following methods: Quinoxoline Complexation with Spectrophotometric Determination (using pre-separation to remove...
  31. P

    Specific Heat of Nickel / Latent Heat of Fusion

    Homework Statement I've done 2 experiments, one was to find the specific heat of nickel and the other was to find the latent heat of fusion. For the nickel experiment, it involves heating the nickel in a test tube in a water bath, and then transferring the pellets to a Styrofoam cup. With...
  32. FeDeX_LaTeX

    Why are Iron, Cobalt and Nickel Magnetic?

    Hello; Why are only iron, cobalt and nickel magnetic, and not any other material? Is it due to their unique electron configurations, or due to something else? Thanks.
  33. A

    A problem about a moving nickel coin - help/advice

    Please, help me with this: Homework Statement A nickel coin with diameter 2 cm and thickness 2 mm starts to roll with no friction on a horizontal plane with spped 10 cm/s. At 55.2 cm from the beginning the plane is inclined up. For the coin to go up to height max= 0.5 mm, what should be the...
  34. D

    What are the challenges in selecting a conductive coating for HF applications?

    First off, maybe this should have gone in the Material Engineering thread, but since it is so common in the EE field...well, I justified it. I have an aluminum housing which gets plated with Ag over Ni. Once received, the housing goes through the following process: Cleaning (alcohol...
  35. L

    Length of an interatomic bond in nickel

    Homework Statement A hanging nickel wire with diameter 0.13 cm is initially 2.6 m long. When a 139 kg mass is hung from it, the wire stretches an amount 1.33 cm. A mole of nickel has a mass of 59 grams, and its density is 8.9 g/cm3. Homework Equations a) What is the length of an...
  36. D

    Exploring the Mystery of Iron & Nickel in Earth's Core

    I'm curious as to why there aren't heavier metals in the Earth's core than iron and nickel. Why those two? Anyone have any insight?
  37. N

    Density of 1938 Nickel - Calculate Now!

    Homework Statement A 1938-nickel has a diameter of 2.11×10-2 m, a thickness of 1.95×10-3 m, and weighs 4.94×10-2 N. What is its density? Homework Equations density=m/v ? or density =w/vg The Attempt at a Solution cant find the volume, I feel like I should drop out of university...
  38. S

    Finding the Best Pump for Nickel Slurry Transport

    hi guys. I need some basic information about a pump that will be able to transport a nickel slurry up around 1-2m high. the mass flow rate of the slurry is 27 kg/s with a density of 1218 kg/m^3. the temperature of the slurry is 25 deg c. What is the best type of pump to use in this...
  39. P

    Producing Nickel Crystals: B & D are Correct Answers

    Homework Statement Which two of the following could be used to produce crystals of nickel? A Addition of a piece of copper to a NiSO4 B Addition of a piece of zinc to a NiSO4 solution. C Addition of a piece of potassium to a NiSO4 solution. D Electrolysis of molten NiSO4. Homework Equations...
  40. S

    Copper Nickel Magnetism: Understanding the Effects of Adding Copper to Nickel

    why adding copper to nickel result in reduced magnetism of nickel? :confused:
  41. G

    Calculating Moles of Chlorine Ions in Nickel Chloride (NiCl2)

    how do you work out the amount of mole Chlorine ions in 13.4g of nickel chloride(NiCl2). i don't know how to use the n=m/M with ions?
  42. E

    Exploring Raney Nickel: Uses & Varieties

    What *is* raney nickel? And, what different kinds of "raney nickel" are there?
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