Titanium Defined

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 8:11 am

We’ve all seen the latest trend of titanium wedding bands. You may even be in the market his and hers wedding rings and you are considering titanium jewelry. But do you know what titanium is? Did you know that titanium is used to manufacture rings, but just as well to manufacture aircrafts? Read on to find some answers to those questions.

Titanium is a metallic chemical element that hasn’t been recognized until relatively recently. It was unearthed first in the latter part of the sixteenth century, and its strong resilience resulted in it being named for giants of ancient lore. There is a remarkable amount of titanium ore in the earth’s crust – more than nickel, tin, lead, chromium, zinc, manganese and mercury all totaled – but pure metal is very rare and ores are dispersed thinly rather than in easily mined quantities.

This metallic chemical element has value because it resists corrosion, is low density, is innoxious and quite durable, but it didn’t see much use until it was endorsed by the defense and space manufacturers in the 1940s. Today, it’s exploited in everything from aerospace uses and autos to edifaces, sporting equipment, prosthetic limbs and food dye. In fact, only five percent of the titanium we mine at this time is used as a metal. The rest is in the form of titanium dioxide, an opaque white, nonreactive pigment that is used in plastics, paints, paper, foods and various other purposes.

Titanium is forty percent lighter than carbon steel and developes more strength when allowed with vanadium, aluminum and various other elements. It conducts heat well and is nonmagnetic, with excellent resistance to deterioration by acids. It is biocompatible and innoxious, too, making it useful in many types of different purposes, including structural, marine, petrochemical, bio material and others.

In just about half of industrial purposes, you’ll learn of a specific titanium alloy, called Ti-6A1-4V. This is among the most economically useful kinds of titanium, and makes up aircraft parts and prosthetic devices. It’s also the customary alloy used to compare others to when choosing the most suitable kind of titanium for your application.

In the petrochemical enterprise, this metal is made use of in reactors and heat exchanges. In the automotive business, it is made into connecting rods, suspension springs and valves. Where sporting goods are concerned, titanium is made use of to create golf clubs, high end bicycles, tennis rackets and sport wheelchairs.

It’s in turbine blades and condensers used in power plants, is has applications in buildings in the form of cable, piping and roof supports, and even in the human body, creating joint replacements, bone splints, heart pumps and valves, and similar mechanisms. Since the human body deteriorates other metals and could repel them, titanium is an superior selection for bio-applications.

Being not magnetic, titanium is superior is useful for computer component surrounds such as microchips and disk drives that can be damaged by magnetic charges. Watches and jewelry are made in this useful metallic chemical element, as are memory frames for eyeglasses. There’s nearly no end to the many various applications of titanium.

Even though there aren’t very many titanium mines in the world, there are all kinds of uses for this tremendous metal. It achieves beautiful pigments, makes buildings stronger, assists people to live better and makes our day-to-day lives easier and more dynamic, whether it’s in a golf club or a power plant. Next time you see something made from titanium, take a moment to think about everything this interesting metallic mineral accomplishes for you.