We all recognise metals when we see them, and know intuitively what sort of properties they have. But what is it that makes them what they are, and why do they account for four-fifths of known elements?
METALS have been important to us for millennia, since our ancestors first discovered “native metals”, learned to extract others from their ores, and found ways to fashion them into crude tools, coins, ornaments and weapons. Today, metals still underpin the fabric of an industrial society, piping electricity into homes, factories and offices and providing the raw materials for many items, ranging from…
