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There is more information available on this subject at Titanium on the English Wikipedia. |
Titanium (pronounced /taɪˈteɪniəm/) is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It is a light, strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant (including to sea water and chlorine) transition metal with a grayish color. Titanium can be alloyed with iron, aluminum, vanadium, molybdenum, among other elements, to produce strong lightweight alloys for aerospace (jet engines, missiles, and spacecraft), military, industrial process (chemicals and petro-chemicals, desalination plants, pulp and paper), automotive, agri-food, medical (prostheses, orthopaedic implants, dental implants), sporting goods, jewelry, and other applications. Titanium was discovered in England by William Gregor in 1791 and named by Martin Heinrich Klaproth for the Titans of Greek mythology.
The element occurs within a number of mineral deposits, principally rutile and ilmenite, which are widely distributed in the Earth's crust and lithosphere, and it is found in almost all living things, rocks, water bodies and soils. The metal is extracted from its principal mineral ores via the Kroll process, or the Hunter process. Its most common compound, titanium dioxide, is used in the manufacture of white pigments. Other compounds include titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) (used in smoke screens/skywriting and as a catalyst) and titanium trichloride (used as a catalyst in the production of polypropylene).
The two most useful properties of the metal form are corrosion resistance, and the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal. In its unalloyed condition, titanium is as strong as some steels, but 45% lighter. There are two allotropic forms and five naturally occurring isotopes of this element; 46Ti through 50Ti with 48Ti being the most abundant (73.8%). Titanium's properties are chemically and physically similar to zirconium.
Titanium is a major component in the UNSC's Titanium-A armor, and is also used in the construction of the Warthog LRV and its variants.[1]