TITANIUM

is a rare metal, discovered by Klaproth, in me nach a nite, in 1794. It has been detected since in the form of small cubes of a copper-red colour, in some of the blast furnaces in Yorkshire. According to Ha enfratz, its presence in small quantity does not impair the malleability of iron. It is very brittle, so hard as to scratch steel, and very light, having a specific gravity of only 5·3. It will not melt in the heat of any furnace, nor di olve, when crystallized, even in nitro-muriatic acid; but only when in fine powder. By calcination with nitre, it becomes oxygenated, and forms titanate of pota a. Traces of this metal may be detected in many irons, both wrought and cast. The principal ores of titanium are sphene , common and foliated, rutile , iserine , me nach a nite , and octahedrite or pyramidal titanium ore . None of them has been hitherto applied to any use.