Metallurgy Engineering

Introduction to metals

Metals possess many unique fundamental properties that make them an ideal material for use in a diverse range of applications.
Properties such as high tensile strength, high fracture toughness, malleability and availability are just some of the many advantages associated with metals.

Metals are generally malleable , they can be hammered or pressed permanently out of shape without breaking or cracking and
fusible (able to be fused or melted) and ductile .

Metals in general have high electrical conductivity, high thermal conductivity, and high density .

Metals are generally not used in their pure state but as mixtures of metals or metal and non metal constituents commonly referred to as alloys.

Mechanical properties of metals include ductility, i.e. their capacity for plastic deformation. Reversible elastic deformation in metals can be described by Hooke s Law for restoring forces, where the stress is linearly proportional to the strain. Forces larger than the elastic limit, or heat, may cause a permanent (irreversible) deformation of the object, known as plastic deformation or plasticity.

Most metals are present in the Earth as compounds of some sort,
such as oxides or sulphides.

The first metals were discovered accidentally more than 5,000 years ago.

Definition of metal

is a material (an element, compound, or alloy) that is typically hard, opaque, shiny, and has good electrical and thermal conductivity.