Metal

In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is defined as an element that readily loses electrons to form positive ions (cations) and forms metallic bonds between other metal atoms. (forming ionic bonds with non-metals). more...

In common usage, the term "metal" is also used to describe something that is considered to be strong, tough, or heavy-duty, without necessarily indicating that the object in question is actually made of metal elements (as in heavy metal music).

Definition

The metals of the periodic table are formally defined as lithium, beryllium, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, potassium, calcium, scandium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, gallium, rubidium, strontium, yttrium, zirconium, niobium, molybdenum, technetium, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, cadmium, indium, tin, antimony, caesium, barium, lanthanum, hafnium, tantalum, tungsten, rhenium, osmium, iridium, platinum, gold, mercury, thallium, lead, and bismuth. Metals are sometimes described as a lattice of positive ions surrounded by a cloud of delocalized electrons. are one of the three groups of elements as distinguished by their ionization and bonding properties, along with the metalloids and nonmetals. On the periodic table, a diagonal line drawn from boron (B) to polonium (Po) separates the metals from the nonmetals. Most elements on this line are metalloids, sometimes called semi-metals; elements to the lower left are metals; elements to the upper right are nonmetals (see the periodic table showing the metals).

An alternative definition of metals is that they have overlapping conduction bands and valence bands in their electronic structure. This definition opens up the category for metallic polymers and other organic metals, which have been made by researchers and employed in high-tech devices. These synthetic materials often have the characteristic silvery-grey reflectiveness (luster) of elemental metals.

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