Ahhh titanium. The King of metals. For my whole career as a machinist I dreamt of machining titanium but didn't get to until I started making fidget spinners. However, it wasn't until flashlights that I really learnt how to work with it.
But what's so special about it?
It's used in huge industrial quantities, so why is it so much more expensive than other metals?
Let's start in 1791 when titanium was first discovered in England by William Gregor. He wrote a paper on it but that was as far as he went. It was discovered again in 1795 in Hungary by Martin Klaproth. It was Martin who named it titanium after the Greeks mythological Titans.
Now let's get technical!
Titanium is made from titanium tetrachloride which is reduced by molten magnesium to produce titanium sponge.
HUH😵😵?! You say. HUH?! I said.
What the heck is titanium tetrachloride and why are we making titanium cleaning products?!!
Check back in next month for Titanium Article 2.
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