Nickel is valued for corrosion resistance and for alloys that perform at high temperatures. Nichrome, containing nickel and chromium, serves in electric heating elements. Nickel also participates in rechargeable battery chemistries and catalysis, showing how an element's role depends on its surrounding material and chemical form.
FROM ELEMENT TO APPLICATION
AN ELEMENT IN CONTEXT
How does nickel–chromium wire turn electrical input into useful heat?
Nickel–chromium alloy
FOLLOW THIS RELATIONSHIP
Provide a resistive path
A shaped nickel–chromium element carries electrical current, with its composition and geometry helping determine the resistance presented to the surrounding electrical circuit.
Explore the model (optional)
NiFORM → INTERACTION → CONSEQUENCE
Follow the explanation in either direction. These are authored steps, not a physical clock.
Atomic identity, reference properties and structure models
INTERACTIVE 3D28 visible sites
An electron censusDrag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom
[Ar] 3d8 4s2. Grouping electrons by principal shell connects the neutral-atom configuration to periodic-table patterns.
What this representation means
A three-dimensional counting diagram. Dots are count markers, not measured electron positions; spherical placement and spacing are arbitrary. There are no electron trajectories here. Orbitals describe quantum states.
Cronstedt investigated a in 1751 expecting copper, but found another metal. Impurities complicated acceptance, as some chemists interpreted the sample as a mixture of known elements. Bergman's preparation of purer nickel in 1775 helped resolve the dispute. Elemental identification could thus require improved separation and repeated analysis after investigators had already made their initial discovery claim.
1751
New metal investigated
Cronstedt identified nickel while studying the mineral now called nickeline.
1775
Purer material prepared
Bergman's work strengthened the evidence that nickel was a distinct element.
Nickel occurs in minerals such as pentlandite and in iron-rich meteorites. It frequently accompanies other metals in natural deposits, making separation part of its industrial history. A nickel-bearing meteorite contains a metallic mixture, whereas a terrestrial sulfide places nickel within chemically bonded mineral structures.
Nickel is a silvery, workable metal that conducts heat and electricity and exhibits behavior. Its value also comes from the it forms with other elements. Alloying and surface plating provide different ways to use nickel: one changes the material's bulk composition, while the other modifies an exposed surface.
Each section links its supporting references. Descriptions and diagrams were authored for this atlas. Source checks completed. Source checks dated 2026-09-06.
CITE THIS PAGE
Family labels and the group-3 layout are teaching conventions. A table position does not establish an unknown bulk property. Electronic configurations refer to neutral atoms; ions and material environments require their own account.
Read each reference property together with its units, conditions and the reference information below.
Not yet recorded: electron affinity, second ionization energy, ground-state term symbol, van der waals radius, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, electrical resistivity, crystal structure, lattice parameter a, space group, abundance in seawater, abundance in the universe, annual production, supply-risk listing, hazard classification, biological role, cas registry number, pubchem cid, wikidata item. These families are declared and awaiting an ingestion run against the source each names; they are listed here rather than shown as empty rows.
Physical
Intended reference: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics · CRC Press
Phase at 20 °C
solid
293.15 K, 101.325 kPa
Melting point in K
1728 K
at standard pressure unless noted
Boiling point in K
3186 K
101.325 kPa
Density in g/cm³
8.91 g/cm³
solids and liquids at 293 K; gases at 273 K and 101.325 kPa
Atomic and electronic
Intended reference: Pauling electronegativity scale · Widely tabulated; original in The Nature of the Chemical Bond
Electronegativity in Pauling
1.91 Pauling
Pauling scale
First ionization energy in kJ/mol
737.1 kJ/mol
gas-phase neutral atom, ground state
Covalent radius in pm
124 pm
single-bond covalent radius
Common oxidation states
+2
states met in ordinary compounds; not exhaustive
Occurrence and identity
Intended reference: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics · CRC Press
Abundance in the crust in mg/kg
84 mg/kg
upper continental crust, mass fraction
Has stable isotopes
Yesderived
Discovery year in CE
1751 CEderived
WHERE IT SITS AMONG ITS NEIGHBORS
Electronegativity across period 4
Ni 1.91 Pauling · Nickel
Electronegativity across period 4. Exact values.
K
0.82
Ca
1
Sc
1.36
Ti
1.54
V
1.63
Cr
1.66
Mn
1.55
Fe
1.83
Co
1.88
Ni
1.91
Cu
1.9
Zn
1.65
Ga
1.81
Ge
2.01
As
2.18
Se
2.55
Br
2.96
Kr
3
Electronegativity down group 10
Ni 1.91 Pauling · Nickel
Electronegativity down group 10. Exact values.
Ni
1.91
Pd
2.2
Pt
2.28
The trend uses the same reference-property values as the periodic table. Elements with no recorded value are left out of the line rather than drawn at zero.
