...specifically, for the nickel found in
Sudbury Basin which goes into their Prius batteries. The
astrobleme released magma from deep underground when a huge meteorite struck the Canadian shield 2 billion or so years ago. Magma, rich in iron, nickel, copper, platinum, palladium, gold and other precious metals back-filled the crater. Workers on the trans-Canadian Railway first discovered the rich deposits. Bucky balls came from the heavens too:
link
Van der Krogt has a fascinating tale of nickel's name--devil's copper--which I don't know whether to believe or not:
link.
The meteorite's impact must have caused cataclysmic changes in the earth's weather--it's ironic that Toyota seeks to ameliorate modern day effects using the consequences of an earlier cataclysm.
Nickel's definitely an underappreciated metal.
ReplyDeleteBut my volatile nature endears me to the group 1 metals. Can't help it. I like the shiny and slightly more enduring things too, but a shiny thing that explodes in the universal solvent instead of being pacified by it, well, that's just too cool.
Group IIs are pretty cool too. And a bit more biological. The group Is seem to work to conduct the body's electrical and neural systems; Group IIs are more structural. 'Cept calcium. That's got a wide use in cellular response as well.
ReplyDeleteMagnesium is more intracellular than extracellular, as is potassium. I think that's because it associates with DNA, but I'm not entirely sure. It also works as a co-factor in several enzyme systems.
Ok, enough. I'm beginning to sound like an infomercial.