Editing Nickel (section)

==Applications==
[[File:Ni foam.jpg|thumb|Nickel foam (top) and its internal structure (bottom)]]
Global use of nickel is currently 68% in stainless steel, 10% in nonferrous [[alloy]]s, 9% [[electroplating]], 7% alloy steel, 3% foundries, and 4% other (including batteries).<ref name="Nickel Use In Society" />

Nickel is used in many recognizable industrial and consumer products, including [[stainless steel]], [[alnico]] magnets, coinage, [[rechargeable battery|rechargeable batteries]] (e.g. [[nickel–iron battery|nickel–iron]]), electric guitar strings, microphone capsules, plating on plumbing fixtures,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/americanplumbing00newyrich|title=American Plumbing Practice: From the Engineering Record (Prior to 1887 the Sanitary Engineer.) A Selected Reprint of Articles Describing Notable Plumbing Installations in the United States, and Questions and Answers on Problems Arising in Plumbing and House Draining. With Five Hundred and Thirty-six Illustrations|date=1896|publisher=Engineering record|page=[https://archive.org/details/americanplumbing00newyrich/page/119 119]|access-date=May 28, 2016}}</ref> and special alloys such as [[permalloy]], [[elinvar]], and [[invar]]. It is used for plating and as a green tint in glass. Nickel is preeminently an alloy metal, and its chief use is in nickel steels and nickel cast irons, in which it typically increases the tensile strength, toughness, and elastic limit. It is widely used in many other alloys, including nickel brasses and bronzes and alloys with copper, chromium, aluminium, lead, cobalt, silver, and gold ([[Inconel]], [[Incoloy]], [[Monel]], [[Nimonic]]).<ref name="ASM">{{cite book|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=IePhmnbmRWkC|title = ASM Specialty Handbook: Nickel, Cobalt, and Their Alloys|first = Joseph R.|last = Davis|publisher=ASM International|date = 2000|isbn = 978-0-87170-685-0|pages = 7–13|chapter = Uses of Nickel}}</ref>

Nickel is traditionally used for [[Kris]] production in Southeastern Asia.

[[File:MagnetEZ.jpg|thumb|left|A "horseshoe magnet" made of [[alnico]] nickel alloy]]

Because nickel is resistant to corrosion, it was occasionally used as a substitute for decorative silver. Nickel was also occasionally used in some countries after 1859 as a cheap coinage metal (see above), but in the later years of the 20th century, it was replaced by cheaper stainless steel (i.e., iron) alloys, except in the United States and Canada.<ref name="toxmetal"/>

Nickel is an excellent alloying agent for certain precious metals and is used in the [[Metallurgical assay|fire assay]] as a collector of [[Platinum group|platinum group elements]] (PGE). As such, nickel can fully collect all six PGEs from ores, and can partially collect gold. High-throughput nickel mines may also do PGE recovery (mainly [[platinum]] and [[palladium]]); examples are Norilsk, Russia and the Sudbury Basin, Canada.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-08-096809-4.10031-0 |chapter=Platinum-Group Metals, Production, Use and Extraction Costs |title=Extractive Metallurgy of Nickel, Cobalt and Platinum Group Metals |date=2011 |last1=Crundwell |first1=Frank K. |last2=Moats |first2=Michael S. |last3=Ramachandran |first3=Venkoba |last4=Robinson |first4=Timothy G. |last5=Davenport |first5=William G. |pages=395–409 |isbn=978-0-08-096809-4 }}</ref>

[[Metal foam|Nickel foam]] or nickel mesh is used in [[gas diffusion electrode]]s for [[alkaline fuel cell]]s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kharton, Vladislav V.|title=Solid State Electrochemistry II: Electrodes, Interfaces and Ceramic Membranes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5n5Fwf5D2EMC&pg=PT166|date=2011|publisher=Wiley-VCH|isbn=978-3-527-32638-9|pages=166–|access-date=June 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910120540/https://books.google.com/books?id=5n5Fwf5D2EMC&pg=PT166|archive-date=September 10, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = A New Cathode Design for Alkaline Fuel Cells (AFCs)|author=Bidault, F.|author2=Brett, D. J. L.|author3=Middleton, P. H.|author4=Brandon, N. P.|url = http://perso.ensem.inpl-nancy.fr/Olivier.Lottin/FDFC08/Bidault.pdf|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110720233739/http://perso.ensem.inpl-nancy.fr/Olivier.Lottin/FDFC08/Bidault.pdf|archive-date = 2011-07-20|publisher=Imperial College London}}</ref>

Nickel and its alloys are often used as catalysts for [[hydrogenation]] reactions. [[Raney nickel]], a finely divided nickel-aluminium alloy, is one common form, though related catalysts are also used, including Raney-type catalysts.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tucker |first1=S. Horwood |title=Catalytic hydrogenation using Raney nickel |journal=Journal of Chemical Education |date=September 1950 |volume=27 |issue=9 |page=489 |doi=10.1021/ed027p489 |bibcode=1950JChEd..27..489T }}</ref>
	
Nickel is naturally magnetostrictive: in the presence of a [[magnetic field]], the material undergoes a small change in length.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130905155229/http://aml.seas.ucla.edu/research/areas/magnetostrictive/overview.htm Magnetostrictive Materials Overview]. [[University of California, Los Angeles]].</ref><ref>{{cite book |publisher=Umi Dissertation Publishing| title = High Frequency High Amplitude Magnetic Field Driving System for Magnetostrictive Actuators | first1 =Raghavendra | last1 = Angara | page = 5| isbn = 9781109187533 | date = 2009 }}</ref> The [[magnetostriction]] of nickel is on the order of 50&nbsp;ppm and is negative, indicating that it contracts.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sofronie |first1=Mihaela |last2=Tolea |first2=Mugurel |last3=Popescu |first3=Bogdan |last4=Enculescu |first4=Monica |last5=Tolea |first5=Felicia |title=Magnetic and Magnetostrictive Properties of Ni50Mn20Ga27Cu3 Rapidly Quenched Ribbons |journal=Materials |date=7 September 2021 |volume=14 |issue=18 |pages=5126 |doi=10.3390/ma14185126 |pmc=8471753 |pmid=34576350 |bibcode=2021Mate...14.5126S |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Nickel is used as a binder in the cemented [[tungsten carbide]] or hardmetal industry and used in proportions of 6% to 12% by weight. Nickel makes the tungsten carbide magnetic and adds corrosion-resistance to the cemented parts, though the hardness is less than those with cobalt binder.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Soviet Powder Metallurgy and Metal Ceramics| title = Structure and properties of tungsten carbide hard alloys with an alloyed nickel binder| doi = 10.1007/BF00796252|date = 1992|last1 = Cheburaeva|first1 = R. F.|last2 = Chaporova|first2 = I. N.|last3 = Krasina|first3 = T. I.|volume = 31|pages = 423–425|issue=5 }}</ref>

{{chem|63|Ni}}, with a [[half-life]] of 100.1 years, is useful in [[krytron]] devices as a [[beta particle]] (high-speed [[electron]]) emitter to make [[ionization]] by the keep-alive electrode more reliable.<ref>{{cite web|title=Krytron Pulse Power Switching Tubes|url=http://www.siliconinvestigations.com/KRYT/Krytron.HTM|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716071203/http://www.siliconinvestigations.com/KRYT/Krytron.HTM|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-07-16|publisher=Silicon Investigations|date=2011 }}</ref> It is being investigated as a power source for [[Betavoltaic device|betavoltaic batteries]].<ref>{{cite journal | display-authors=1 | first1=Y. R. | last1=Uhm | first2=B. G. | last2=Choi | first3=J. B. | last3=Kim | first4=D.-H. | last4=Jeong | first5=K. J. | last5=Son | title=Study of a Betavoltaic Battery Using Electroplated Nickel-63 on Nickel Foil as a Power Source | journal=Nuclear Engineering and Technology | volume=48 | issue=3 | pages=773–777 | date=June 2016 | doi=10.1016/j.net.2016.01.010 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2016NuEnT..48..773U }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title=High power density nuclear battery prototype based on diamond Schottky diodes | first1=V. S. | last1=Bormashov | first2=S. Yu. | last2=Troschiev | first3=S. A. | last3=Tarelkin | first4=A. P. | last4=Volkov | first5=D. V. | last5=Teteruk | first6=A. V. | last6=Golovanov | first7=M. S. | last7=Kuznetsov | first8=N. V. | last8=Kornilov | first9=S. A. | last9=Terentiev | first10=V. D. | last10=Blank | display-authors=1 | journal=Diamond and Related Materials | volume=84 | date=April 2018 | pages=41–47 | doi=10.1016/j.diamond.2018.03.006 | bibcode=2018DRM....84...41B | doi-access=free }}</ref>

Around 27% of all nickel production is used for engineering, 10% for building and construction, 14% for tubular products, 20% for metal goods, 14% for transport, 11% for electronic goods, and 5% for other uses.<ref name="Nickel Use In Society" />

In 2025, [[QuesTek Innovations]] and [[Stoke Space]] developed a nickel-based superalloy for [[additive manufacturing]] and extreme high-pressure, high-temperature oxygen environments. Its characteristics allow the material to be used for fully [[reusable spacecraft]] launch systems, it can withstand the full-flow staged combustion [[rocket engine]] Zenith.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-23 |title=QuesTek develops nickel superalloy for Stoke Space's daily-launch reusable rockets |url=https://www.metal-am.com/questek-develops-nickel-superalloy-for-stoke-spaces-daily-launch-reusable-rockets/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Metal Additive Manufacturing |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Browne |first=Lara |date=2025-04-24 |title=QuesTek and Stoke Space Unveil Breakthrough Nickel Alloy for Reusable Rocket Engines |url=https://metals-wire.net/news/questek-and-stoke-space-unveil-breakthrough-nickel-alloy-for-reusable-rocket-engines/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=METALS WIRE |language=en}}</ref>

[[Raney nickel]] is widely used for [[hydrogenation]] of [[Saturated and unsaturated compounds|unsaturated]] oils to make [[margarine]], and substandard margarine and leftover oil may contain nickel as a [[contaminant]]. Forte et al. found that type 2 diabetic patients have 0.89&nbsp;ng/mL of Ni in the blood relative to 0.77&nbsp;ng/mL in control subjects.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Metals in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes|first1=Abdul Rehman|last1=Khan|first2=Fazli Rabbi|last2=Awan|date=January 8, 2014|journal=Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders|volume=13|issue = 1|pages=16|doi=10.1186/2251-6581-13-16|pmid=24401367|pmc=3916582 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[Nickel titanium]] is an alloy of roughly equal atomic percentages of its constituent metals which exhibits two closely related and unique properties: the [[shape memory effect]] and [[superelasticity]].