After the Bronze Age, which lasted from about 3300 BC to 1200 BC, people found several metals. They used these metals for many purposes. In the later periods, they developed these different types of metals for other applications. But modern scientists further developed these metals and discovered new elements. The big companies are now using these metals in thousands of applications based on market demand.
Today’s post will go through the top twenty metals that are the most popular in industrial manufacturing. But we have divided the lists into ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals to keep things simple.
Three types of ferrous metals.
Any metal with high iron content and magnetic characteristics is a ferrous metal. The hardness, durability, and tensile strength of ferrous metals are prevalent in manufacturing.
Their features work well for skyscrapers, bridges, railroads, and vehicles. They benefit both industry and architecture. Steel, cast iron, and wrought iron are the three most prevalent kinds of ferrous metals.
Steel
It is an iron alloy with a few tenths of carbon added to enhance strength and fracture resistance compared to other iron types. There are four types of steel.
Carbon Steels: Carbon steel has a dull, matte appearance, and it is corrosive. Low, medium, and high carbon steels are the three kinds, with low having approximately 0.30 percent carbon, medium 0.60 percent, and high 1.5 percent.
Alloy steels: Alloy steel combines multiple metals such as nickel, copper, and aluminum. Alloy steels are preferred for automobile parts, pipelines, ship hulls, and mechanical projects. They are cheaper and resist corrosion better. The concentration of the ingredients determines the strength of these alloys.
Stainless steel: Stainless steel is by far the most popular on the market. This kind is lustrous and has 10 to 20% chromium as its primary alloying ingredient. This mix makes the steel resistant to corrosion and easy to shape into different forms.
Tool steel: Tool steel is famous for its hardness and resistance to heat and abrasion. These metals get their name because they’re often used to manufacture metal tools, such as hammers. They contain cobalt, molybdenum, and tungsten. These elements are key for tool steel’s heat resistance and durability.
Application: Sheets for deep-drawn auto bodies, appliances, construction, railroad rails, and wires.
Cast Iron
It is an iron alloy containing 2 to 4% carbon, variable quantities of silicon and manganese, and traces of sulfur and phosphorus. Production happens in a blast furnace by reducing iron ore.
Application: Making pipes, machines, automotive parts, pots, pans and utensils, anchors for ships, etc.
Wrought Iron
When compared to cast iron, wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon concentration. It’s a semi-fused iron mass with fibrous slag inclusions that give it a “grain” that looks like wood when etched or twisted to the point of failure.
Application:
Making pipes
Bars for stay bolts
Engine bolts
Rivets
Plates
Unique chains
Crane hooks
Other forging applications
Seventeenth type of non-ferrous metals
Non-ferrous metals are metals or alloys that do not include significant quantities of iron in metallurgy. These metals are essential to key features. They offer lighter weight, better conductivity, non-magnetic properties, and corrosion resistance. They are often more expensive than ferrous metals.
Aluminum
Aluminium is a silvery metal that is soft and lightweight. It has the atomic number 13 and belongs to the boron group on the periodic chart. Aluminium is the most plentiful metal in the Earth’s crust and the third most abundant element after oxygen and silicon. It makes up 8% of the weight of the Earth’s solid surface.
Aluminum is both an excellent thermal and electrical conductor. It is a light metal with one-third the density and rigidity of steel. Because it is ductile and malleable, you can machine, cast, and extrude it with minimal effort.
Application:
Power lines
High-rise buildings
Window frames
Consumer electronics
Household and industrial appliances
Aircraft components
Spacecraft components
Ships
Trains
Personal vehicles
Nickel
Not possible to remove the adverb. It is silver-white in hue, with a gleaming finish and a golden tinge. People consider nickel to be helpful due to its malleable and corrosion-resistant characteristics. Miners extract nickel from two types of ores: magmatic sulfides and laterites.
Nickel can mix with steel, iron, copper, chromium, aluminum, lead, cobalt, silver, gold, and more. This helps create stainless steel, cast iron, and other alloys.
Nickel is a common component in the production of alloys. It is also important in transportation, aerospace, marine, architectural, and consumer products. It is beneficial in the production of cutlery, coins, magnets, and other metals.
Copper
Cu is a transition metal with the number 29 on the periodic table. It has an atomic weight of 63.55 AMU and 29 neutrons (atomic mass units). It’s a ductile, malleable reddish-gold metal that’s also a good heat and electricity conductor. Copper was the first metal that humans dealt with, and it is still one of the most common metals today.
**Applications:** Copper is common in wires, heat sinks, electromagnets, and electric motors. It is also used in structural parts and pipes. Copper is better than other metals in this regard. Its air oxidation helps protect it from further corrosion.
Brass
Brass is a non-ferrous red metal made from copper and zinc alloys. The mix of copper and zinc changes its properties, giving it different mechanical and electrical traits. Brass is a substitutional alloy. This means its atoms can replace each other in the same crystal structure.
Applications: Brass casts well and is strong and attractive. It also has antibacterial properties due to its high copper content. Brass is a popular material for musical instruments, decorative trim, fasteners, bullet casings, and more.
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy, primarily composed of copper and containing 12% tin. Besides these two, aluminum, arsenic, manganese, phosphorus, and silicon have distinct characteristics.
The main types of bronze alloys include:
Leaded bronze
Phosphor bronze
Aluminum bronze
Silicon bronze
Manganese bronze
Bronze has many distinct characteristics that make it ideal for various uses, from art to computer technology. Bronze has a reddish-brown hue, is complex and brittle, and has a melting temperature of 950 degrees Celsius.
Applications: The properties of bronze make the metal ideal for both practical and aesthetic uses, such as marine and fishing. Shipyards often choose bronze fittings and propellers for many boats and ships. This is because bronze has great corrosion resistance.
Some bronze alloys are great for electrical use because they conduct electricity well. The material has low metal-to-metal friction, which is great for high-stress uses like bushings and bearings. This includes uses in bushings and bearings.
Zinc
Zinc (Zn) is an excellent metal found in the Earth’s crust with a wide range of industrial and biological applications. It is brittle and blue-white at room temperature, but it is gleaming if you polish it.
Zinc is a primary metal that is mainly used to galvanize steel to protect it against corrosion. Zinc alloys like brass are used in many areas. They’re great for corrosion-resistant naval parts and also for musical instruments.
Applications: Galvanized steel is used for car bodywork, street light poles, safety barriers, and suspension bridges.
Die-castings are crucial for the automotive, electrical, and hardware sectors. They require a lot of zinc. Brass, nickel silver, and aluminium solder are all alloys that include zinc.
Zinc oxide is found in many products. These include paints, rubber, cosmetics, medicines, and plastics. You can also find it in inks, soaps, batteries, textiles, and electrical equipment. Luminous paints, fluorescent lights, and X-ray screens all use zinc sulfide.
Silver
Ag is a shiny white metal with good electrical conductivity and aesthetic appeal. It is one of the so-called precious metals, along with gold and platinum group metals.
Silver makes printed electrical circuits and coats electronic conductors through vapor deposition. This is because silver has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of all metals. It may also have an alloy with nickel or palladium for use in electrical connections.
Applications: Silver has been popular in making coins, decorations, and jewelry for a long time. People use silver as a catalyst. It can transform ethylene into ethylene oxide with high efficiency. This compound is a key building block for many chemicals.
Gold
Au is a rich, brilliant yellow precious metal belonging to Period 6’s Group 11 (Ib). It has several characteristics that have made it very precious throughout history. It has a nice color and brightness. It’s nearly indestructible and very flexible. You can usually find it in nature in a pure form. Gold has a history unlike any other metal because of its perceived worth since the dawn of time.
Applications: Gold is famous mainly for making currency, decorations, jewelry, and gilding. Green gold is a popular choice for jewelry. It is a gold, silver, and copper alloy with karat values ranging from 14 to 18 karats.
Gold is also popular in the textile business. Electronic tubes use gold-plated grid wire. This design boosts conductivity and cuts down on secondary emissions.
Lead
Lead (Pb) is a heavy metal that has a higher density than most other metals. It is soft and pliable, as well as having a low melting point. Lead is silvery with a touch of blue when newly cut; it tarnishes to a drab gray color when exposed to air.
Applications: We use lead in:
Car batteries
Pigments
Ammunition
Cable sheathing
Lifting weights
Diving weight belts
Lead crystal glass
Radiation protection
Lead is suitable for storing corrosive liquids. The architect uses lead in stained glass windows and for roofs.
Cobalt
It’s a little-known metal with many uses, interesting facts, and unique traits. It is one of the d-block elements, or transition metals, on the periodic table.
Cobalt, like many other transition metals, is usually found in the form of an alloy. People usually extract cobalt via mining, and the Congo and Zambia on the African continent are famous for cobalt mining.
Application: Because cobalt, like iron, can be magnetic, the manufacture of magnets is an example of the use of cobalt. But an alloy with aluminum and nickel produces powerful magnets.
High-temperature applications such as jet turbines and gas turbine generators are also among the uses of cobalt. Its attractive look, hardness, and resistance to corrosion make it popular in electroplating.
People used cobalt salts in paint, porcelain, glass, pottery, and enamels to create beautiful blue colors for millennia. Certain nations use cobalt-60, a radioactive isotope, to cure cancer and irradiate food to preserve it.
Platinum
Platinum is a non-reactive metal that occurs in small amounts in nature. It is a noble metal because of its outstanding corrosion resistance, even at high temperatures. With an average abundance of about 5 μg/kg, it is one of the rarest elements in the Earth’s crust.
Nickel and copper ores have specific amounts. Most of the world’s supply, about 80%, comes from native deposits in South Africa.
Applications: Platinum is often prevalent in the jewelry industry. Its primary use is in catalytic converters for automobiles, lorries, and buses. The reaction utilizes platinum as a catalyst for nitric acid, silicone, and benzene in the chemical industry. Fuel cells also use platinum as a catalyst to enhance their efficiency.
Platinum is also often used in the electronics sector for computer hard drives and thermocouples. Optical fibers and LCDs, turbine blades, spark plugs, pacemakers, and dental fillings are all made of platinum.
Platinum compounds are crucial for cancer treatment. Researchers use them in both industrial and biological settings.
Tin
It is a corrosion-resistant, silvery, soft, and malleable metal. It binds to a variety of chemical molecules. Cassiterite and stannine are key tin minerals. You can find them in Malaysia, Thailand, Zaire, Indonesia, and Bolivia. Coal reduction produces pure tin. This datasheet explores tin’s characteristics and uses.
Applications: To prevent corrosion, it requires a high polish and coats other metals, such as tin cans, which have tin-coated steel. Tin alloys, such as soft solder, pewter, bronze, and phosphor bronze, are also used for tin. Superconducting magnets must also have a niobium-tin alloy.
To create a level surface, manufacturers produce most window glass by floating molten glass over molten tin. A spray of tin salts forms coatings on the glass surface that conduct electricity.
Tungsten
It is a transition metal found in the same column as chromium and molybdenum in the periodic table. The heaviest member of this group is tungsten, which has an atomic mass of 183 grams per mole.
Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal and reinforces other metals. The metalworking, mining, and petroleum sectors all rely on tungsten carbide because it is very hard. Heating tungsten and carbon powder to 2200°C and combining them produces the material.
**Applications:** Before 1900, manufacturers used tungsten in incandescent light bulb filaments. But many countries have since phased them out. They generate a significant amount of heat compared to light because they lack energy efficiency.
Many high-temperature applications use tungsten and its alloys. These include arc welding electrodes and parts for high-temperature furnaces.
Tungsten carbide cutting and drilling tools are exceptional. This includes a new “painless” dental drill that spins at very high speeds. Fluorescent lighting often uses calcium and magnesium tungstates.
Titanium
It is a light, high-strength, low-corrosion structural metal used in high-speed aviation components as an alloy.
It is abundant and makes up 0.44 percent of the Earth’s crust. Almost all rocks, sand, clay, and other soils contain the metal in some form. It may also be available in plants, animals, natural waterways, deep-sea dredgings, meteorites, and stars.
Applications: Many industries use titanium alloys. They value them for their low density and ability to withstand extreme temperatures. You can find them in airplanes, spacecraft, and missiles. Golf clubs, laptop computers, bicycles, and crutches all contain them.
Power plant condensers use titanium because of its corrosion resistance. It also aids desalination plants. Plus, it protects the hulls of ships, submarines, and other saltwater structures. This is thanks to its strong resistance to corrosion in seawater.
Titanium metal bonds well with bone. So, surgical procedures often use titanium. This includes joint replacements, especially hip joints, and dental implants.
Titanium is most often useful in the form of titanium(IV) oxide. You may find it in a wide range of products, including home painting, artists’ paint, plastics, enamels, and paper. Because it inhibits UV radiation from reaching the skin, sunscreens also contain titanium.
Palladium
It is currently the most expensive of the four primary precious metals. The metal’s price has doubled in less than a year, making it more costly than gold. It is a crucial component in pollution control systems for automobiles and trucks.
Automobile catalytic converters use palladium more than any other material. Certain dental fillings and crowns, as well as jewellery. Laptops and mobile phones contain ceramic capacitors. They show one way to use palladium in electronics. Manufacturers make these from palladium layers sandwiched between ceramic layers.
Uranium
It is a heavy metal that has been popular as a concentrated energy source for more than 60 years. It is available in most rocks in quantities of 2 to 4 parts per million, and it is as abundant as tin, tungsten, and molybdenum in the Earth’s crust.
Applications: Nuclear power plants use uranium to produce energy as a nuclear fuel. Scientists focus on creating other synthetic transuranium elements from this substance. The military also uses it to power nuclear submarines and weaponry.
Bismuth
The most metallic and most minor abundant element in the nitrogen group is bismuth (Bi). Bismuth is a hard, brittle, lustrous metal with a coarse crystalline structure. Its color—grey-white with a reddish tinge—distinguishes it from all other metals.
Applications: Fire alarms and extinguishers, as well as electric fuses and solders, use bismuth.
Summary
This world is full of thousands of unknown types of metals that our scientists haven’t discovered. We are still waiting to see those unknown, excellent elements that we can use in many industrial sectors in the future.
But today’s article focused on the twenty metals that people use with the greatest frequency around the world. We have categorized them into ferrous and non-ferrous groups. Also, we have pointed out the applications for each of them.