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Nichrome (also known as NiCr, nickel-chromium or chromium-nickel) is a family of alloys of nickel and chromium (and occasionally iron [1]) commonly used as resistance wire, heating elements in devices like toasters, electrical kettles and space heaters, in some dental restorations (fillings) and in a few other applications.
Nichrome, a non-magnetic 80/20 alloy of nickel and chromium, is the most common resistance wire for heating purposes because it has a high resistivity and resistance to oxidation at high temperatures, up to 1,400 °C (2,550 °F). When used as a heating element, resistance wire is usually wound into coils.
Nichrome 80/20 is one of the most commonly used resistance heating alloys because it has relatively high resistance and forms an adherent layer of chromium oxide when it is heated for the first time. Material beneath this layer will not oxidize, preventing the wire from breaking or burning out.
Usually a thin nichrome wire is used. Some applications also use platinum-silver alloy; other bridgewire materials in use are platinum, gold, silver, tungsten, etc. Care has to be taken when selecting the material as it is in direct contact with the pyrotechnic composition and should not undergo corrosion in such conditions.
Most modern electric heating devices use nichrome wire as the active element; the heating element, depicted on the right, uses nichrome wire supported by ceramic insulators. Alternatively, a heat pump can achieve around 150% – 600% efficiency for heating, or COP 1.5 - 6.0 Coefficient of performance , because it uses electric power only for ...
The carrier density is usually obtained theoretically by integrating the density of states over the energy range of charge carriers in the material (e.g. integrating over the conduction band for electrons, integrating over the valence band for holes).
For amateur pyrotechnic use, electric matches can be built from scratch or from a kit. Kits include the thin wire needed for the bridgewire, such as nichrome wire, along with components for mixing the pyrogen. Scratch-built matches use thin wire which may be purchased or salvaged from sources such as light bulb filaments, and copper wiring. [1] [7]
For heating, resistance wire must be stable in air when hot. Kanthal FeCrAl alloy forms a protective layer of aluminium oxide (). [1]Aluminium oxide has high thermal conductivity but is an electrical insulator, so special techniques may be required to make good electrical connections.