Name       : Nickel 
Symbol     : Ni
Atomic #   : 28
Atom weight: 58.69
Melting P. : 1453
Boiling P. : 2732
Oxidation  : +2, +3
Pronounced : NIK-'l
From       : German kupfernickel, "Old Nick's copper" (Seriously!)
Identified : Baron Axel Fredrik Cronstedt in 1751
Appearance : Hard, malleable, silvery-white metal
Note       : An United States five-cent piece is made of 25% nickel.

[Properties]

  Nickel is a hard, malleable, and ductile metal. It has a silvery white
appearance, and it can be polished to a lustrous finish. Corrosion under
normal environmental conditions is practically nonexistent, making nickel
a natural choice for a coinage material.
  Nickel is a group-VII transition metal on the periodic table of elements.
Unlike neighboring copper, nickel is only a fair conductor of electricity
(copper is an excellent conductor). Like its neighbor on the other side,
cobalt, nickel possesses outstanding magnetic properties. Nickel alloyed
with cobalt and iron is a combination that accounts for most powerful kinds
of permanent magnet.
  Nickel is unusually resistant to corrosion by alkalis. For this reason,
industrial-strength sodium and potassium hydroxide are shipped and stored
in nickel containers. Nickel reacts with most acids to produce hydrogen
gas and the Ni ion.
