History of Metals

HISTORY OF METALS The development of civilisation has relied heavily on the discovery of metals. Prehistoric man used metals to build tools and weapons and as our knowledge of metallurgy has developed, metals have played an essential role in the advancement of agriculture, transport and arts and craft – forging the path to today's modern society. Here we present the timeline of metals: METALS OF ANTIQUITIES The Metals of Antiquity, were the metals upon which civilisation was based. 6000 BC MESOLITHIC 10,000 4.500 BC Gold Hunting and gathering communities moved across land near the British Isles forming stone tools and 'microliths' - small trimmed blades mounted in different combinations to Stone Age man learned to fashion gold into jewellery. The popularity of gold is largely due to its scarcity, value and mankind's fascination with the metal. make a variety of tools. 4500 - 2300 BC Widespread use of polished stones and flint axes. 4200 BC 4000 BC Copper 4200 BC Silver The use of copper in antiquity is of more significance than gold as the first tools, implements and weapons were made from copper. 4000 BC Silver had always been very widely used throughout history as a basis for monetary systems and played central roles in the currencies of the Roman and Chinese 3500 BC Empires. Lead 3.000 BC 3500 BC Stonehenge was started to be built, this may have been for ceremonial gatherings. It is believed that lead smelting began at least 9,000 years ago, and the oldest known artifact of lead is a statuette found BRONZE AGE at the temple of Osiris on the site of Abydos dated circa 3800 BC. 2.300 - 700 BC The wheel is used in central Europe. The bronze age began when metallurgists discovered mixing two metals together created a stronger substance than either of the individual metals. 1750 BC 1500 BC Tin 1750 BC Iron smelted First smelted in combination with copper around 3500 BC to produce bronze. The oldest artifacts date from around 2000 BC. 1500 BC The discovery of smelting around 3000 BC led to the start of the Iron Age around 1200 BC and the prominent use of iron for tools and weapons. 776 BC The Hattites discovered iron around 1500 BC giving them a distinct advantage in war. First recorded Olympic Games. 79 BC 750 BC Destruction of the city of Pompeii by the volcano Vesuvius. Mercury 750 BC 1185 First record of windmills. Known to ancient Chinese and Indians before 2000 BC, and found in Egyptian tombs dating from 1500 BC. 1250 Arsenic 1450 1557 Antimony Platinum 1712 METALS DISCOVERED IN THE 18TH CENTURY The invention of the Steam Engine 1735 Cobalt 1746 1750 The American Revolution Antimony 1751 1753 Bismuth Nickel 1774 1751 Manganese After Iron, Nickel is believed to be the second most plentiful element in the Earth and is used in the production of corrosion resistant alloys. 1781 Molybdenum 1782 1783 Tellurium Tungsten 1789 1789 Zirconium Uranium French Revolution Begins 1789 1791 Uranium oxide has been used to colour glass and ceramics from as early as A.D.79. Its applications today are almost exclusively in the production of nuclear fuels and weapons. Titanium 1791 Although discovered in the 18th century, it wasn't until the 1940's that Titanium was used in structures due to impurities. 1794 Yttrium 1797 1797 Berylium Chromium 1797 1799 Napoleon comes to power Mainly used as an additional alloy in steels. Improves corrosive resistance and essential in the production of stainless steels. METALS DISCOVERED IN THE 19TH CENTURY 1801 Niobium 1802 1803 Tantalum Iridium, Palladium, Rhodium 1807 Potassium, Sodium 1808 1809 Boron, Barium, Calcium, Magnesium, Strontium Abraham Lincoln is born 1814 Cerium 1817 Lithium, Cadmium, Selenium 1823 1827 Silicon 1823 Aluminium Around 26% of the earth's crust contains Silicon however it is never found in its pure form as it naturally occurs as either an oxide or a silicate. 1827 It is the most common metal in the Earth's crust and at around a third of the weight of steel, aluminium is one of the lightest of all the metals. 1828 Thorium 1830 Vanadium 1839 Lanthanum 1843 Erbium, Terbium 1844 Ruthenium 1859 The Suez canal is constructed 1860 Charles Darwin publishes his works on evolution XOARWID Cesium, Rubidium 1861 1863 Thallium Indium 1875 1878-1885 Gallium Holmium, Thulium, Scandium, Samarium, Gadalinium, Praseodynium, Neodynium, Dysprosium 1879 Thomas Edison tests his first light bulb 1886 1898 Germanium Polonium Radium 1899 1898 1898 Actinium METALS DISCOVERED IN THE 20TH CENTURY Both Polonium and Radium are radioactive and very rarely occur in nature. Both these metals were discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. 1901 1907 Europium Lutetium 1914 1917 World War 1 Protactinium 1923 1924 Hafnium Rhenium 1929 1937 The Great Depression Technetium 1939 1945 Francium Promethium 1940-61 The first nuclear explosion Transuranium elements: (Neptunium, Plutonium, Curium, Americum, Berkelium, Californium, Einsteinium, Fermium, Mendelevium, Nobelium, Lawrencium) 1969 The first moowalk http://neon.mems.cmu.edu/cramb/Processing/history.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_materials_technology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_of_the_chemical_elements http://www.asminternational.org/content/ASM/Store- Files/05306G Sample.pdf http://chemistry.about.com/od/elementfacts/a/nickel.htm http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/uranium.aspx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_ancient_history MAKIN METAL POWDERS (UK) LTD