MetalA metal (from Ancient Greek μέταλλον (métallon) 'mine, quarry, metal') is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. These properties are all associated with having electrons available at the Fermi level, as opposed to nonmetallic materials which do not. Metals are typically ductile (can be drawn into a wire) and malleable (can be shaped via hammering or pressing).
Group 8 elementgroup 7 ← → group 9Group 8 is a group (column) of chemical elements in the periodic table. It consists of iron (Fe), ruthenium (Ru), osmium (Os) and hassium (Hs). "Group 8" is the modern standard designation for this group, adopted by the IUPAC in 1990. It should not be confused with "group VIIIA" in the CAS system, which is group 18 (current IUPAC), the noble gases.
Abundance of the chemical elementsThe abundance of the chemical elements is a measure of the occurrences of the chemical elements relative to all other elements in a given environment. Abundance is measured in one of three ways: by mass fraction (in commercial contexts often called weight fraction), by mole fraction (fraction of atoms by numerical count, or sometimes fraction of molecules in gases), or by volume fraction.
Earth's inner coreEarth's inner core is the innermost geologic layer of the planet Earth. It is primarily a solid ball with a radius of about 1,230 km (760 mi), which is about 20% of Earth's radius or 70% of the Moon's radius. As recently as February 2025 there are indications that the previously believed solid iron-nickel sphere is partially deformable and undergoing viscous changes. There are no samples of the core accessible for direct measurement, as there are for Earth's mantle.
Chemical elementChemical substance not composed of simpler onesThe chemical elements ordered in the periodic table, as shown in the 32-column formatA chemical element is a species of atom defined by its number of protons. The number of protons is called the atomic number of that element. For example, oxygen has an atomic number of 8: each oxygen atom has 8 protons in its nucleus.
Periodic tableTabular arrangement of the chemical elementsPeriodic table of the chemical elements showing the most or more commonly named sets of elements (in periodic tables), and a traditional dividing line between metals and nonmetals.
Transition metalIn chemistry, a transition metal (or transition element) is a chemical element in the d-block of the periodic table (groups 3 to 12), though the elements of group 12 (and less often group 3) are sometimes excluded. The lanthanide and actinide elements (the f-block) are called inner transition metals and are sometimes considered to be transition metals as well. They are lustrous metals with good electrical and thermal conductivity.
Earth's crustEarth's crust is its outer shell of rock, comprising less than one percent of the planet's radius and volume. It is the top component of the lithosphere, a solidified division of Earth's layers that includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle. The lithosphere is broken into tectonic plates whose motion allows heat to escape the interior of Earth into space.
Earth's outer coreEarth's outer core is a fluid layer about 2,260 km (1,400 mi) thick, composed of mostly iron and nickel that lies above Earth's solid inner core and below its mantle. The outer core begins approximately 2,889 km (1,795 mi) beneath Earth's surface at the core-mantle boundary and ends 5,150 km (3,200 mi) beneath Earth's surface at the inner core boundary. PropertiesThe outer core of Earth is liquid, unlike its inner core, which is solid.
Abundance of elements in Earth's crustThe abundance of elements in Earth's crust is shown in tabulated form with the estimated crustal abundance for each chemical element shown as mg/kg, or parts per million (ppm) by mass (10,000 ppm = 1%). ReservoirsThe Earth's crust is one "reservoir" for measurements of abundance. A reservoir is any large body to be studied as unit, like the ocean, atmosphere, mantle or crust.
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. This is made possible by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all of Earth's water is contained in its ocean, which covers 70.8% of Earth's crust. The remaining 29.2% of Earth's crust is dry land, which is predominantly located within Earth's land hemisphere in the form of continental landmasses.Atomic numberThe atomic number or nuclear charge number (symbol Z, from the German Zahl, "number") of a chemical element is the charge number of its atomic nucleus. For ordinary nuclei composed of protons and neutrons, this is equal to the proton number (np) or the number of protons found in the nucleus of every atom of that element. The natural elements have atomic numbers from 1 for hydrogen to 92 for uranium.
Chemical symbolChemical symbols are the abbreviations used in chemistry, mainly for chemical elements, but also for functional groups, chemical compounds, and other entities. Element symbols for chemical elements, also known as atomic symbols, normally consist of one or two letters from the Latin alphabet and are written with the first letter capitalised. HistoryEarlier symbols for chemical elements stem from classical Latin and Greek words.
extraterrestrialRelated word or term.sequesterRelated word or term.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.