NICKEL (Saved. Nickel. connected perhaps with Ocr. Nieket, devil, ef. the etymology of co balt: according to others connected with Icel. ball. lump). 21 metallic element dis covered by Cronstedt in 1751. It was first men tioned in 1694 by lliarni, who called it koppar nickel. signifying false copper, beeause, while ifs arcs resembled those of copper. that metal could not be extracted from them. Cronstcdt success fully isolated the metal, but it was not until Bergman in 1774 corroborated his investigations that its distinct nature was recognized. Nickel is a constituent of all meteoric irons, and it has been detected spectroscopically in the at mosphere of the sun. On the earth it occurs, usually associated with cobalt, in niceolite. gersdorflite, inillcrite, garnierite, and certain other minerals. The distribution of the snlpharsenide ores led to their extensive work ing in Saxony, Norway, Sweden, Austria. Spain. Russia, Great Britain, and the United States, but since the discovery of garnierite in New Caledonia in 1873. and the development of the nickeliferous pyrrhotite in tindlmry, Ontario, Can., subsequent to 1887, these two localities have become the principal sources of nickel.
Nickel (synThol, Ni; atomic weight, 58.69) is a silver-white lustrous metal that is at ordinary temperatures. is ductile, hard, and tenacious, has a specific gravity of from 8.97 to 6.26, and a melting-point of about 1450° C. Next to manganese it is time hardest of the metals. and it is capable of taking a tine polish. Fleitman has found that on adding a small quantity of magnesium to fused nickel the latter can be rolled into very thin sheets and welded on to sheet iron or steel so as to permit its use for the manufacture of culinary or other utensils. Nickel
thus treated may be drawn into wire and also cast or forged, The chief use of nickel is in the manufacture of alloys, including German silver. There is an important alloy of nickel and steel which is used for armor plate and other heavy forgings. Nickel is also employed as a material for making coins in Switzerland, Belgium, Germany. the United States, and other countries. Nickel combines with oxygen to form two oxides. The monoxide, NiO, is n grayish green substance found native as bunsenite. It may be made by strongly heating the hydroxide. carbonate, or nitrate. The sesquioxide of nickel. is a black substance obtained by heating the nitrate or carbonate in the air. The most important commercial salt of nickel is am monium-nickel sulphate. which is obtained by dissolving either metallic nickel or its protoxide in sulphuric acid and adding ammonium sulphate to the concentrated avid solution, which is then evaporated to crystallization. The crystals, which arc of a bright green color. may be further purified by recrystallization and find their chief use in nickel plating. The carbonate may also be used for electroplating. Nickel salts, when hydrated or in solution, have a tine emerald green color, but are yellow when anhydrous. In 1889, 252,603 pounds of nickel. valued at $151, 598, were produced from ores mined in the United States. in 1902 there was no nickel mined, the ore smelted being derived entirely from Canada and New Caledonia.