Nickel is a naturally occurring, lustrous, silvery-white metallic element.
| Name: | NICKEL |
| Chemical symbol: | Ni |
| Atomic number: | 28 |
| Atomic weight: | 58.69 |
| Melting point: | 1453 oC |
| Boiling point: | 2730 oC |
| Density: | 8.90 g/cm3 at 25 oC |
| Curie temperature: | 253 oC |
About 69% of the nickel which is produced is used to manufacture stainless steels. Another 15% is used in other steel and non-ferrous alloys - often for highly specialized industrial, aerospace and military applications. About 8% is used in plating and another 3% in foundries and castings. About 3% of nickel is used in batteries for electronics, and in batteries for portable equipment and hybrid cars and roughly 2% goes into uses such as chemicals, catalysts and dyes.