Metals are ubiquitous in everyday life. From the knife and fork you use to eat to the components of your television and computer and the jewellery you wear, different metals serve different roles. Knowing the origins of each metal can help you better understand our world.
Even in situations utilising non-metal items, surface treatments such as the electroless nickel plating available at poeton.co.uk/surface-treatments/plating/electroless-nickel-plating/ rely on the unique properties of specific metals to ensure their effectiveness. Without various metals, many industries would no longer be able to function effectively.
What is a metal?
Official definitions of “metal” generally focus on its shiny or lustrous quality when it has been polished, and its ability to conduct electricity thanks to the structure of its electrons. Metals exist both as pure elements and as alloys combining at least two elements, one of them metal.
Naturally occurring metals
Many basic metals, including tin, iron, lead, copper, silver and gold, originate in the Earth’s crust. They are found in nature, often as underground deposits. In this form, they are known as ores. These ores may be mixed with other minerals and need to be extracted, such as through mining, and refined to make them usable. Iron is the most common ore, available around the world, whilst silver and gold are rarer.
Man made metals
Other metals are created through refining or combining ores, including some non-metals. For instance, iron is smelted through a furnace, impurities are removed and other elements, such as chromium, are added to create steel. Steel is primarily an iron and carbon alloy, but additional elements can change its quality. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, whilst copper and tin combine to make bronze.
Aluminium ore is common, but the process of refining it is complex. This once made aluminium prohibitively expensive, until technological advancements made mass production possible. Bauxite is crushed, washed, digested, settled, precipitated and smelted. Similar advancements have been made with other refinement processes.
Understanding the origins of different metals allows you to make more informed and ethical choices regarding your own use of metal items.