Metal
Metal is a fascinating group of materials that play an important role in many aspects of our daily lives. Here is some information about metals
What is metal?
Metals are chemical elements that can be found in the periodic table to the left and below the dividing line from boron to polonium. Around 80 % of the elements are metals, such as aluminum (Al), copper (Cu) and gold (Au). The properties of metals are high electrical conductivity, good thermal conductivity, metallic luster and malleability. These properties are based on the fact that the individual metal atoms are held together by the so-called metal bond.
Where is metal used?
Metals have many applications in our everyday lives and in industry. Here are a few examples:
- Iron: More than 90 percent of the metal used worldwide is iron. It is used in steel production, mechanical engineering, vehicle construction, shipbuilding and the electrical industry
- Aluminum: Aluminum is used in aerospace, vehicle construction, IT and household appliances, consumer electronics and the packaging industry
- Copper: Copper is used for electrical cables due to its excellent electrical conductivity
- Lithium: Lithium is used in battery and rechargeable battery technology
What types of metal are there?
We know about 118 chemical elements, of which about 80 percent are classified as metals. This means that there are approximately 94 different types of metals. It is important to note that the exact number can vary depending on the definition and classification of metals.
There are basically two different ways in which metals can be categorized:
- Light and heavy metals: depending on the density, a distinction is made between light metals (e.g. aluminum Al) and heavy metals (e.g. lead Pb)
- Noble and base metals: This classification is based on reactivity
How is metal formed?
Metals occur in nature in various forms and are extracted through mining. Most metals do not occur in nature in pure form, but are bound in minerals. These minerals are called ores.
The production of metal from these ores takes place in several steps:
- Extraction of the ore: the ore is extracted from the earth, often by mining.
- Processing the ore: The ore is crushed and processed to separate the metal from the rest of the rock.
- Reduction: The processed ore is heated and treated with a reducing agent (often carbon in the form of coke) to extract the metal.
- Purification: The extracted metal is further purified and refined to remove impurities.
An example of this process is the production of steel from iron ore. In the blast furnace process, iron ore and almost pure carbon (coke) are melted at high temperatures to produce pig iron. The coke also serves as fuel.
It is important to note that the exact process can vary depending on the type of metal and the specific ore source.
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