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The term "ferrous" is derived from the Latin word meaning "containing iron". This can include pure iron, such as wrought iron, or an alloy such as steel. Ferrous metals are often magnetic, but not exclusively. Non-ferrous metals and alloys lack appreciable amounts of iron.
The Latin term, during the Roman Empire, was aes cyprium; aes was the generic term for copper alloys such as bronze. Cyprium means "Cyprus" or "which is from Cyprus", where so much of it was mined; it was simplified to cuprum and then eventually Anglicized as "copper" (Old English coper/copor). · Symbol Cu is from the Latin name cuprum ("copper").
Planetary names and symbols for the metals – the seven planets and seven metals known since Classical times in Europe and the Mideast – was ubiquitous in alchemy. The association of what are anachronistically known as planetary metals started breaking down with the discovery of antimony, bismuth and zinc in the 16th century.
Iron is the most widely used of all the metals, accounting for over 90% of worldwide metal production. Its low cost and high strength often make it the material of choice to withstand stress or transmit forces, such as the construction of machinery and machine tools , rails , automobiles , ship hulls , concrete reinforcing bars , and the load ...
Hydrargyros is a Greek compound word meaning ' water-silver ', from ὑδρ - (hydr-), the root of ὕδωρ (hydor) ' water ', and ἄργυρος (argyros) ' silver '. [9] Like the English name quicksilver (' living-silver '), this name was due to mercury's liquid and shiny properties. [27] The modern English name mercury comes from the ...
Platinum is an extremely rare metal, [26] occurring at a concentration of only 0.005 ppm in Earth's crust. [27] [28] Sometimes mistaken for silver, platinum is often found chemically uncombined as native platinum and as alloy with the other platinum-group metals and iron mostly.
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The addition of a second metal to copper increases its hardness, lowers the melting temperature, and improves the casting process by producing a more fluid melt that cools to a denser, less spongy metal. [39] This was an important innovation that allowed for the much more complex shapes cast in closed molds of the Bronze Age.