The Chemistry of Metals

Chemistry class was one of my favorite classes in high school (no really!) and I always enjoyed learning about how compounds of elements in a specific ratio could create a whole new material. There’s something oddly satisfying with knowing the formulas of everyday things, like that two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule together creates our life force, water! Which is why I was intrigued to come across a chart recently that breaks down the metals that are used to create common metal alloys we all use every day.

It starts with a key to how the element was made, who knew that metals came from dying or exploding stars!?

The next key is color coded to show how abundance the element is in the Earth’s Crust.

Now for a look at the mixture of elements that is used to create some of the most common metal alloys that we use, wear, work with every single day!

First to start with the metal alloys that are used for jewellery. Copper plays a large role in almost all of these as it’s a sturdier metal and many valuable metals are very weak on their own (check out the video of the hydraulic press vs. a piece of solid gold below to see what I mean.)

Here is the video I mentioned above, now you see why gold needs those other metals mixed with it for everyday use!

Cast iron is created from a combination of iron and carbon, and sometimes a small amount of silicon. These are the materials that make up every cook’s best friend, the cast iron pan! Here’s a fun fact for you, a very small amount of the iron in the cast iron skillet actually gets cooked into your food when you use it — but don’t worry, this is actually good for you as it is a natural source of iron! So if you’re looking for an extra boost of iron, pull out that cast iron skillet!