Nickel (Ni)
"The Tough Coin, a corrosion-resistant hero who makes up our money and toughens up stainless steel."
A memorable persona to anchor Ni in your mind.
8.908
Grams per cm³
1455
Celsius (°C)
163
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
Nickel is found in the five-cent �nickel� coin in US currency.
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
1751
Discovered By
Axel Fredrik Cronstedt
Origin of Name
"The name is the shortened for of the German 'kupfernickel' meaning either devil's copper or St. Nicholas's copper."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
58.693 u
Standard State
solid
Boiling Point
2913°C
Electron Configuration
[Ar] 3d84s2
1st Ionization Energy
7.64 eV
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"Nickel is a hard, silvery-white, lustrous metal."
Did You Know?
The Earth's core is believed to be made of an iron-nickel alloy.
The U.S. five-cent coin, the 'nickel', is actually only 25% nickel and 75% copper.
Most meteorites contain nickel, so finding nickel in the ground can be a sign of a past impact.
Nickel-plated objects are highly resistant to corrosion, and the process is often used for protective coatings.