Amalgam (chemistry) in the context of "Native metal"

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⭐ Core Definition: Amalgam (chemistry)

An amalgam is an alloy of mercury with another metal. It may be a liquid, a soft paste or a solid, depending upon the proportion of mercury. These alloys are formed through metallic bonding, with the electrostatic attractive force of the conduction electrons working to bind all the positively charged metal ions together into a crystal lattice structure. Many metals can form amalgams with mercury, with some notable exceptions including iron, platinum, tungsten, and tantalum. Gold-mercury amalgam is used in the extraction of gold from ore, and dental amalgams are made with metals such as silver, copper, indium, tin and zinc.

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👉 Amalgam (chemistry) in the context of Native metal

A native metal is any metal that is found pure in its metallic form in nature. Metals that can be found as native deposits singly or in alloys include antimony, arsenic, bismuth, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, indium, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, niobium, rhenium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, and zinc, as well as the gold group (gold, copper, lead, aluminium, mercury, silver) and the platinum group (platinum, iridium, osmium, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium). Among the alloys found in native state have been brass, bronze, pewter, German silver, osmiridium, electrum, white gold, silver-mercury amalgam, and gold-mercury amalgam.

Only gold, silver, copper and the platinum group occur native in large amounts. Over geological time scales, very few metals can resist natural weathering processes like oxidation, so mainly the less reactive metals such as gold and platinum are found as native metals. The others usually occur as isolated pockets where a natural chemical process reduces a common compound or ore of the metal, leaving the pure metal behind as small flakes or inclusions.

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Amalgam (chemistry) in the context of Gilt-bronze

Ormolu (/ˈɔːrməˌl/; from French or moulu 'ground/pounded gold') is the gilding technique of applying finely ground, high-carat goldmercury amalgam to an object of bronze, and objects finished in this way. The mercury is driven off in a kiln, leaving behind a gold coating. The French refer to this technique as bronze doré; in English, it is known as gilt bronze. Around 1830, legislation in France outlawed the use of mercury for health reasons, though use continued to the 1900s.

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