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Nickel
is a chemical element with the symbol Ni and an atomic number of 28.
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In Germany during
medieval times, a red mineral was found that looked like copper ore (rock).
When miners couldn't extract any copper from it, they blamed a
mischievous sprite of German mythology, Nickel. They decided to call this ore
Kupfernickel, with the German word for copper being Kupfer.
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In
1751, Baron Axel Fredrik Cronstedt discovered nickel while trying to extract
copper from the ore kupfernickel. He named the white metal substance nickel
after the spirit that had given its name to the ore.
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Unintentional
use of nickel has taken place since ancient times around 3500BC.
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Based
on writings the alloy cupronickel is believed to have been used by the
Chinese from 1400BC and exported to Britain in the 17th century.
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Nickel
is a transition metal that is hard and ductile. It is a silvery-white shiny
metal with a slight golden tinge.
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Nickel
has a melting point of 2,651 °F (1,455 °C) and a boiling point of 5,275.4 °F
(2,913 °C).
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Along
with iron, cobalt and gadolinium, nickel is one of just 4 elements that
are magnetic at or near room temperature.
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Major
nickel deposit sites have been found in the Sudbury region of Canada(possibly
of meteoric origin), New Caledonia, Russia, South Africa,
Philippines,Indonesia, and Australia.
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Most
uses of nickel are as an alloy metal, namely in nickel steels, brasses,
bronzes and nickel cast irons. The metal is often alloyed with copper,
chromium, aluminium, lead, cobalt, silver, and gold.
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Nickel
was commonly used in the making of coins, however, due to the metal being a
skin allergen for some people, and the fact that today cheaper metals are
available the element is no longer widely used in coinage.
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People
can have allergic reactions to nickel through skin contact. Traditionally,
nickel has been used to make jewelry such as earrings. Nickel allergies
affecting pierced ears often result in itchy, red skin, therefore many
earrings are now made nickel-free.
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Nickel
is also used in many other products such as magnets, rechargeable batteries,
electric guitar strings, microphone capsules, and as a green tint in glass.
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Nickel
is quite rare in the Earth's crust. It is 100 times more likely to be found
in the Earth's core, where it is the second most abundant element behind
iron.
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Nickel
is one of the elements used to make stainless steel partly due to its
corrosion resistant properties.
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In
the U.S, a five cent coin is called a "nickel" despite being 75%
copper and only 25% nickel.
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