the.com/nichrome
the metal that turns electricity into heat without quitting, glowing for your toaster every morning
means Nichrome is an alloy of nickel and chromium prized for its high electrical resistance and ability to glow red-hot without melting or oxidizing away, used in heating elements like toasters, hair dryers, and kilns.
from A blend word, exactly as it looks: 'ni' from nickel plus 'chrome' from chromium, the two metals it's made of. Nickel itself comes from German 'Kupfernickel'—'devil's copper'—a miners' curse for an ore that looked like copper but yielded none, blamed on a mischievous goblin (Nickel). Chromium comes from the Greek 'chroma,' meaning color, because its compounds bloom in brilliant hues. Nichrome arose as a trademark for the alloy in the early 20th century, and the name has since slid into common use.
- composition
- Nickel and chromium, occasionally seasoned with iron
- high resistance
- Fights current so hard it glows red
- oxide shield
- Self-forms a chromium skin to resist melting
- everywhere
- Inside toasters, hair dryers, heaters, vape coils
- born 1905
- Patented by American engineer Albert Marsh
nichrome wire heating elements — nichrome 80 (80% nickel, 20% chromium) used in toasters, ovens, and hair dryers since the 1920s
kanthal resistance wire — iron-chromium-aluminum alloy alternative to nichrome, rated for higher temperatures up to 1400°c
electric furnace coils — nichrome wire wound into coils for industrial kilns and laboratory furnaces worldwide