History ------- (German Nickel, Satan or Old Nick’s and from kupfernickel, Old Nick’s copper) Cronstedt discovered nickel in 1751 in kupfernickel (niccolite). Sources ------- Nickel is found as a constitutent in most meteorites and often serves as one of the criteria for distinguishing a meteorite from other minerals. [Iron](/research/charts/periodic-table-of-elements/iron) meteorites, or siderites, may contain iron alloyed with from 5 percent to nearly 20 percent nickel. Nickel is obtained commercially from pentlandite and pyrrhotite of the Sudbury region of Ontario, a district that produces about 30 percent of the world’s supply of nickel. Other deposits are found in New Caledonia, Australia, Cuba, Indonesia, and elsewhere. Properties ---------- Nickel is silvery white and takes on a high polish. It is hard, malleable, ductile, somewhat ferromagnetic, and a fair conductor of heat and electricity. It belongs to the iron-cobalt group of metals and is chiefly valuable for the alloys it forms. Uses ---- It is extensively used for making stainless steel and other corrosion-resistant alloys such as Invar®, Monel®, Inconel®, and the Hastelloys®. Tubing made of copper-nickel alloy is extensively used in making desalination plants for converting sea water into fresh water. Nickel, used extensively to make coins and nickel steel for armor plates and burglar-proof vaults, and is also a component in Nichrome®, Permalloy®, and constantan. Nickel gives glass a greenish color. Nickel plating is often used to provide a protective coating for other metals, and finely divided nickel is a catalyst for hydrogenating vegetable oils. It is also used in ceramics, in the manufacture of Alnico magnets, and in the Edison® storage battery. Isotopes -------- The sulfate and the oxides are important compounds. Natural nickel is a mixture of five stable isotopes; nine other unstable isotopes are known. Handling -------- Exposure to nickel metal and soluble compounds (as Ni) should not exceed 0.05 mg/cm^3 (8-hour time-weighted average - 40-hour work week). Nickel sulfide fume and dust is recognized as being potentially carcinogenic.