LEAD |
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Lead is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Pb (L. plumbum) and atomic number 82. A soft, heavy, toxic and malleable poor metal, lead is bluish white when freshly cut but tarnishes to dull gray when exposed to air. Lead is used in building construction, lead-acid batteries, bullets and shot, and is part of solder, pewter, and fusible alloys. Lead has the highest atomic number of all stable elements. (But see the article on Bismuth, which has a half life so long it can be considered stable.)
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METALLURGY |
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Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and of materials engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds and their mixtures, which are called alloys.
Extractive metallurgy is the practice of separating metals from their ore, and refining them into a pure metal. In order to convert a metal oxide or sulfide to a metal, the metal oxide must be reduced either chemically or electrolytically.
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