Five things you need to know about titanium

(1) History. Titanium was first discovered in 1791 by William Gregor of Great Britain, who first named it after himself, gregorite. It was then rediscovered in 1793 by a German chemist who named the element after the Greek mythological giants, the Titans. It wasn’t until 1797 that it was found that gregorite and titanium were the same element; however, the process to isolate titanium wasn’t successful until over 100 years later—in 1910.

(2) Abundance.Titanium is the fourth most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust behind aluminum, iron and magnesium (in that order). Titanium accounts for 0.62 percent of the Earth’s crust. Most people like to think of titanium as a rare metal due to its high price. But the truth is,to buy titanium in its raw form is fairly inexpensive,the process to isolate the metal is what raises the price tag dramatically.

(3) Characteristics. Titanium is known for its high strength-to-weight ratio. It is more than twice as strong as 6061-T6 aluminum alloy and close to half the weight of T-4 stainless steel. The metal is also corrosion resistant, which makes it appealing to many different industries.

(4) Price. The price of titanium is about double that of bronze, quadruple that of brass and 10 times that of T-3 aluminum. No wonder titanium parts for dirt bikes are so expensive.

(5) Uses. Due to the high tensile-strength-to-density ratio, high crack resistance, high-temperature resistance, high corrosion resistance and fatigue resistance, titanium alloys are used in various military applications like aircraft, armor plating, naval ships, spacecraft and missiles.Other uses are medical implants, nuclear waste storage, jewelry, automotive applications and motorcycle racing.