Editing Zinc (section)

===Physical properties===
[[File:Zinc-sheet.jpg|thumb|left|Piece of zinc sheet]]
Zinc is a bluish-white, lustrous, [[diamagnetic]] metal,<ref name="CRCp4-41" /> though most common commercial grades of the metal have a dull finish.<ref name="Heiserman1992p123">{{harvnb|Heiserman|1992|p=123}}</ref> It is somewhat less dense than [[iron]] and has a hexagonal [[crystal structure]], with a distorted form of [[Close-packing of equal spheres|hexagonal close packing]], in which each atom has six nearest neighbors (at 265.9 pm) in its own plane and six others at a greater distance of 290.6 pm.<ref>Wells A.F. (1984) ''Structural Inorganic Chemistry'' 5th edition p 1277 Oxford Science Publications {{ISBN|0-19-855370-6}}</ref> The metal is hard and brittle at most temperatures but becomes malleable between 100 and 150&nbsp;°C.<ref name="CRCp4-41" /><ref name="Heiserman1992p123" /> Above 210&nbsp;°C, the metal becomes brittle again and can be pulverized by beating.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SSkKAAAAIAAJ|title=The Useful Metals and Their Alloys|first=John|last=Scoffern|author-link=John Scoffern|publisher=Houlston and Wright|date=1861|pages=591–603|access-date=April 6, 2009}}</ref> Zinc is a fair [[electrical conductivity|conductor of electricity]].<ref name="CRCp4-41" /> For a metal, zinc has relatively low melting (419.5&nbsp;°C) and boiling point (907&nbsp;°C).<ref name="ZincMetalProps">{{cite web|url=http://www.galvanizeit.org/design-and-fabrication/design-considerations/zinc-metal-properties |title=Zinc Metal Properties |publisher=American Galvanizers Association |date=2008 |access-date=April 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328205508/http://www.galvanizeit.org/design-and-fabrication/design-considerations/zinc-metal-properties |archive-date=March 28, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> The melting point is the lowest of all the [[d-block]] metals aside from [[mercury (element)|mercury]] and [[cadmium]]; for this reason among others, zinc, cadmium, and mercury are often not considered to be [[transition metal]]s like the rest of the d-block metals.<ref name="ZincMetalProps" />

Many [[alloy]]s contain zinc, including brass. Other metals long known to form binary alloys with zinc are [[aluminium]], [[antimony]], [[bismuth]], [[gold]], iron, [[lead]], mercury, [[silver]], [[tin]], [[magnesium]], [[cobalt]], [[nickel]], [[tellurium]], and [[sodium]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Production and Properties of Zinc: A Treatise on the Occurrence and Distribution of Zinc Ore, the Commercial and Technical Conditions Affecting the Production of the Spelter, Its Chemical and Physical Properties and Uses in the Arts, Together with a Historical and Statistical Review of the Industry|last=Ingalls|first=Walter Renton|journal=The Engineering and Mining Journal|date=1902|pages=142–6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RhNDAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA133}}</ref> Although neither zinc nor [[zirconium]] is [[Ferromagnetism|ferromagnetic]], their alloy, {{chem|ZrZn|2}}, exhibits ferromagnetism below 35&nbsp;[[Kelvin|K]].<ref name="CRCp4-41" />