Discovery date : 1751
Discovered by: Axel Fredrik Cronstedt
Origin of the name: The name is the shortened for of the German 'kupfernickel' meaning either devil's copper
or
St. Nicholas's copper.
Allotropes :
~>NICKEL is a chemical element with 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.
| FACT BOX | |||
| Group | 10 | Melting point | 1455°C, 2651°F, 1728 K |
| Period | 4 | Boiling point | 2913°C, 5275°F, 3186 K |
| Block | d | Density (g cm−3) | 8.90 |
| Atomic number | 28 | Relative atomic mass | 58.693 |
| State at 20°C | Solid | Key isotopes | 58Ni |
| Electron configuration | [Ar] 3d84s2 | CAS number | 7440-02-0 |
| ChemSpider ID | 910 | ChemSpider is a free chemical structure database | |
Meteorites contain both iron and nickel, and earlier ages used them as a superior form of iron. Because the metal did not rust, it was regarded by the natives of Peru as a kind of silver. A zinc-nickel alloy called pai-t’ung (white copper) was in use in China as long ago as 200 BC. Some even reached Europe.
In 1751, Axel Fredrik Cronstedt, working at Stockholm, investigated a new mineral – now called nickeline (NiAs) – which came from a mine at Los, Hälsingland, Sweden. He thought it might contain copper but what he extracted was a new metal which he announced and named nickel in 1754. Many chemists thought it was an alloy of cobalt, arsenic, iron and copper – these elements were present as trace contaminants. It was not until 1775 that pure nickel was produced by Torbern Bergman and this confirmed its elemental nature.