The Element Nickel


Nickel is a hard and ductile transitional metal which is silvery white in color and has a polished outlook. Although it is known as a very reactive element, it is slow to react in air at normal temperatures and pressures. Therefore, it is mostly used in coins, for plating iron, brass etc and for chemical apparatus owing to its inertness to oxidation.

Industrially, nickel is used as stainless steel, magnets, coinage and special alloys. It is also used for plating and as a green tint in glass. In laboratories, nickel is often used as a catalyst for hydrogenation while, nickel (III) oxide is used as the cathode in many rechargeable batteries such as nickel cadmium and nickel-metal hybrid batteries.

Atomic Number & Chemical Properties


Element Basics:

Chemical Symbol: Ni
Atomic Number: 28
Atomic Weight: 58.6934
Element Classification: Transition Metal
Discovered By: Axel Cronstedt
Date of Discovery: 1751 (Sweden)
Origin of Name: German: kupfernickel (devil's copper).

How to Recognize it at a Party:

Hard, malleable, silvery-white metal

Seriously Atomic Information:

Density (g/cc): 8.902
Melting Point (°K): 1726
Boiling Point (°K): 3005
Atomic Radius (pm): 124
Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 6.6
Covalent Radius (pm): 115
Ionic Radius: 69 (+2e)
Pauling Negativity Number: 1.91
First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 736.2
Oxidation States: 3, 2, 0
Electronic Configuration: [Ar] 3d8 4s2

Getting Intimate with Nickel:

Lattice Structure: Face-Centered Cubic (FCC)
Lattice Constant (Å): 3.520
Lattice C/A Ratio: n/a
Specific Heat (@20°C J/g mol): 0.443
Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): 17.61
Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 378.6
Thermal Conductivity (@25°C W/m K):
Debye Temperature (°K): 375.00


Society's Questions About Nickel:

Have you ever wondered what everyone else in the world thinks about Nickel? Is anyone else looking for it too? If so, why? What do they want?

The following list shows the most common online questions about the element Nickel. Are your questions the same or different from everyone else's?

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