Metals  Manufacturers, Traders, Suppliers

Metals are with about 80% the largest group of chemical elements. In general, they are divided into heavy metals and light metals according to their density, and into precious metals and base metals according to their reactivity. In the periodic table of chemical elements, metals are not assigned to any particular series or periods. They are on the left and below a line from boron to polonium. On the upper right are the non-metals, between them the semi-metals. However, the subgroup elements are metals. The chemical behaviour is also determined by the membership of the main and subgroups of the periodic table. Atoms of a metal have the following properties. The number of electrons in the outer shell is small and smaller than the coordination number. The ionization energy required to split off the outer electrons is about 10 eV small. As a result, metal atoms are not able to combine to molecules or grids like many non-metals do through atomic bonds. At most in metal vapours such atomic bonds occur, for example sodium vapour consists of about 1 % Na molecules. Metals are arranged in a metal lattice of positively charged atomic bodies, while the valence electrons are distributed over the entire lattice. None of these electrons belongs to a certain nucleus, these electrons are freely mobile, i.e. not bound to certain energy levels (orbitals), they are located in the "conductor path" and form an "electron gas". The band model provides a more exact consideration under consideration of the orbital model. The following properties of metals result from this binding variant and the lattice structure. The luster is achieved by freely moving electrons. These reflect the entire absorbed energy in all wavelengths without changing it. This creates a gloss and mirror effect. This is also referred to as reflection through smooth surfaces. This is why mirrors are also made of metal. Metals are opaque because the reflection of the light on the surface prevents them from looking through. This is why metals in the thinnest patterns already look grey and black. Their good electrical conductivity comes from the migration of the freely moving electrons in a direction in which the electrical current also flows. The thermal conductivity can be traced back to easily displaceable electrons. These take part in the heat movement and thus contribute to heat transport. Good deformability is made possible by the dislocations in the grid. These can already move below the cut-off voltage from a voltage. Depending on the type of grille, the metal deforms rather than breaks. A high melting point is achieved by binding forces directed from all sides.