MrTitanium: Titanium Tech

Anodized Earrings

Oil on Wet Pavement

Not Just Aerospace Hullmetal

Titanium, a refractory metal, is at least as strong as steel, but 45% lighter and won't rust. It is twice as strong as aluminum, but only 60% heavier.Titanium keeps its strength at high temperatures, up to red-hot where steel slumps and aluminum is liquid.

For artistic uses, the refraction of light through a sub-micron thickness of clear oxide on the surface produces interference pattern colors similar to the colors produced by oil on water.
Read my short article about the physics of titanium coloring.

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Titanium is a Refractory Metal: It has a very high melting point.
Titanium art is based on Refraction: Colors produced by the slowing of light waves in a medium, resulting in reflections and/or bending of wave path. Other Examples: Lenses, prisms, holograms

Atomic Number	22
Atomic Weight	47.88
Atomic Radius	2 Å
Electronegativity	1.54
Density	4.5 g/mL
Melting Point	1,943 K = 3038°F
Boiling Point	3,562 K = 5952°F
Crystal Type	hexagonal
Tensile Strength (Ult.)	31,908 psi
Mohs Hardness	6.5
Electron Structure	[Ar]3d²4s²

Name origin:	Greek: titanos (Titans)
Description:	Shiny, dark-gray metal. It can be highly polished, and is relatively immune to tarnishing.
Rarity:	Titanium is present in meteorites and in the sun (Titanium oxide bands are prominent in the spectra of M-type stars). Some lunar rocks contain high concentrations of the dioxide, TiO₂.. Fortunately, it is also the 9^th most abundant element in the earth's crust (5700 ppm), and 4^th most common metal (after Aluminum, Iron, and Magnesium).
Discovered by:	It was discovered in 1791 in its oxide form by an Englishman, William Gregor, and later rediscovered as one component of the oxide rutile and dubbed "Titanium" by the German, Heinrich Klaproth. Not commercially refined until the 1920's. Barely used until the cold war and the space race created a demand for it.
Sources:	Usually occurs in the minerals ilmenite (FeTiO₃) or rutile (TiO₂). Also in Titaniferous magnetite, titanite (CaTiSiO₅ = CaTiOSiO₄), and iron ores.
Purification:	The elemental metal was not made until 1910 by Matthew A. Hunter. Pure metal is currently produced by heating TiO₂ with Carbon and Chlorine gas to produce TiCl₄ which is then heated with Mg gas in an Ar atmosphere in an explosive reaction at 800°C (1472°F).
Mainstream Uses:	Used in many alloys for corrosion resistance, strength, and temperature tolerance. Favored material for prosthetic implants because of its extreme hypo-allergenic nature. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂), a white pigment in paint, rubber, paper and many other places.
Artistic Uses:	The artistic possibilities of controlled colors from light wave interference/cancellation in the clear refraction layer on titanium began in the late 1970's in England. Colors are produced by heating the metal in the air, or by electrically anodizing it in an electrolyte to bond oxygen to the surface of the metal.
Grades Available:	Click here for a list of some of the common grades of titanium