"Titanium" is named after the giant Titan in Greek mythology and is the strongest metal on earth. You may have heard of the metal "titanium". For now, it is expensive, but it is not a rare metal, just because of the high cost of mining and production.
You may know artificial joints, golf clubs, or submarines made of titanium, but did you know that there is also titanium in the white cake frosting? Well, let's take a look at this, which is known for its toughness. Interesting story!
01 This "god-like" metal was not forged until the 20th century
As early as 1791, William Greg, an amateur British mineralogist, and church priest discovered some strange black sand in a stream near Cornwall. Among these black sands, part of the sand is magnetic. Greg concluded that it is iron oxide, but the other substance is a mystery. Of course, this must be another kind of oxide, but it was not in the textbooks of the Royal Geological Society at that time.
Titanium oxide powder
In 1795, German chemist Martin Heinrich Klapros discovered this strange oxide again and named it titanium oxide after the pre-Olympian god in Greek mythology. Although pure titanium was discovered at the end of the 18th century, it was not until 1910 that Matthew Hunter, a chemist at General Electric in the United States, separated pure titanium from its oxide. In 1910, Hunter studied how to strip this silver metal from oxide in a sealed "bomb" under high temperature and pressure.
02 It is the lightest and strongest metal on earth
Pure titanium has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of all metals on the earth. It is as strong as steel, but 45% lighter.
Titanium fasteners
This extraordinary strength-to-weight ratio makes titanium and titanium alloys (a mixture of titanium and other metals) the materials of choice for aircraft engines and fuselages, rockets, missiles, and even spacecraft. In modern industry, any equipment that cannot be separated from metal parts requires a supply of materials that are as hard and lightweight as possible.
Titanium alloy engine blades
For example, the Airbus A380 aircraft, the world's largest passenger aircraft, contains 77 tons of titanium in its body. Most of it is in its huge engine. Thanks to an innovative metallurgical technology called "Knox Process" in the 1930s, commercial forging of titanium was in full swing in the 1940s and 1950s. First applied to military aircraft and submarines (mainly the United States and Russia), and then in the 1960s, began to be applied to commercial aircraft.
03 Titanium is more resistant to corrosion
Corrosion is an electrochemical process that slowly destroys most metals over time. When a metal is exposed to oxygen, whether in the air or underwater, the oxygen will seize electrons and produce what we call metal "oxides". One of the most common corrosive oxides is iron oxide, which is rust.
But not all oxides can corrode the underlying metal. For example, the surface of titanium is covered with a thin layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2), which actually protects the underlying titanium from any type of corrosion, including electrochemical corrosion, microbial corrosion, and stress corrosion.
The natural anti-corrosion properties of titanium make it not only an ideal material for aircraft but also an ideal material for subsea components exposed to highly corrosive seawater. Almost all ship propellers are made of titanium, as are the ship’s internal ballast and piping systems, as well as the ship’s hardware exposed to seawater.
04 Titanium can be implanted in all parts of the human body, from head to toe
The thin layer of titanium dioxide that protects titanium from corrosion also makes it the safest material for implantation in the human body. Titanium is completely "biocompatible", which means it is non-toxic, does not cause allergies and rejection reactions, and can even fuse with human tissues and bones.
Titanium skull plate
Titanium is an excellent surgical material for bone and joint implants, skull plates, dental implant roots, artificial eyes and ear nails, heart valves, spinal fusion, and even urethral stricture. Studies have shown that titanium implants can trigger the body's immune system to grow bones directly on the surface of the titanium. This process is called osseointegration.
Titanium artificial hip joint
The reason why titanium has become the material of choice for hip replacement and fracture nails is that titanium has an unparalleled high strength-to-weight ratio, which makes human implants lighter, and titanium also has the same elasticity as human bones.
05 Titanium shows its talents in sports equipment
At the end of the 20th century, as the price of pure titanium fell, manufacturers began to find more commercial uses for this magical metal. Titanium's lightweight and high strength make it very suitable for manufacturing sports goods.
Titanium alloy golf clubs
The first titanium golf clubs went on the market in the mid-1990s. For example, Callaway’s titanium No. 1 wood cue. These clubs are expensive compared to other woods made of steel or wood, but their success has prompted other sports manufacturers to get involved in titanium.
Titanium road bike
Now, in any sports equipment that requires high weight, strength, and durability, we can find titanium. For example, tennis rackets, lacrosse sticks, snowboards, bicycle racks, baseball bats, hiking and mountaineering equipment, camping equipment, and even professional horseshoes.
06 White pigments (including cake frosting) contain titanium
Of the 6.3 million tons of titanium produced annually in the world, only 5% is used for forging metal, and most of them are converted into titanium dioxide. This material naturally protects titanium from corrosion. Today, titanium dioxide is used worldwide as a non-toxic whitening pigment, widely used in paints, cosmetics, medicines, and food, including white cake frosting.
Industrial Titanium Dioxide (Titanium Oxide)
The white paint used to be dyed with lead-containing pigments, but once people knew the health effects of lead, titanium dioxide successfully replaced lead. It turns out that titanium-based pigments have some cool properties. House painters choose titanium-based white paints because of their corrosion resistance and durability.
Titanium oxide also has a strong refraction, which makes it have a greater natural luster than diamonds, and produces a particularly bright white hue. Titanium oxide can also reflect infrared light, which is why titanium-based coatings are always used on the exterior of the solar observatory to disperse the infrared light that blurs the image.
Museum decorated with titanium plates
In addition, an architect named Frank Gehry also used titanium to decorate the exterior of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The entire museum uses 33,000 titanium plates to wrap. Under different light conditions, the color and brightness of the titanium plates will change, making the museum exude amazing brilliance.
07 Titanium has entered human life
In 2014, Wujiang Group officially launched the establishment of the world's first titanium full industrial chain production enterprise - a total investment of 7.6 billion yuan, from titanium ore to 20,000 tons of sponge titanium and titanium processing, titanium alloys, and titanium civilian consumer goods industries. The links are interlocking. "Wujiang Titanium" introduced us to a characteristic of the appearance of titanium in a very special way:
Titanium cups will oxidize into different colors at different temperatures
Because titanium oxides will show different colors at different temperatures, these beautiful water cups are all the metallic colors presented by titanium. Titanium itself has an antibacterial effect and is a natural sterilization vessel, so it is also loved by more and more people.
