Nicrosil is a

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...

containing about 14.4%

chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...

, 1.4%

silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic tab ...

, and (in some sources) 0.1%

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

. Nicrosil is used as the positive leg of type N

thermocouple A thermocouple, also known as a "thermoelectrical thermometer", is an electrical device consisting of two dissimilar electrical conductors forming an electrical junction. A thermocouple produces a temperature-dependent voltage as a result of the ...

s. In this application another nickel alloy,

Nisil Nisil is an alloy of nickel (95.5% wt.) and silicon (4.4% wt.) with traces of Mg (0.1% wt.), which is non-magnetic. Nisil melts at 1341 - 1420 °C, has a density of 8.58 g/cm3, and electrical resistivity of 0.365 Ω⋅mm2/m at 20 °C. It is ofte ...

, is used as the negative leg. The Nicrosil alloy in this case does not contain magnesium.

References

External links

Materials properties of thermocouple wires sold by Omega Engineering, Inc.

* Data sheets NICROSI

Nickel alloys Silicon alloys Chromium alloys Refractory metals {{alloy-stub