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The story of titanium

construction-physics.com

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Re: The story of titanium

#51

Post by hdivider »

Huge fan of Titanium.

If only we could find a cheap way to get the metal out of titanium dioxide. Like a Haber process-level breakthrough.

Then we could start replacing steel with titanium in many applications. Think entire freight trains, cargo ships, containers, cars, trucks, tractors -- all that heavy steel replaced by titanium alloys.

Enormous quantities of fuel and energy saved by lower density and higher strength. In many applications, it would likely make stainless steel obsolete.

Trillions of dollars of value may be locked up in such a breakthrough.

Re: The story of titanium

#52

Post by painted-now »

I owned a carbon road bike - which unfortunately I wrecked due to a problem with my chain. I then bought a used titanium bike, and I have peace of mind since then. It might be just a psychological effect - but it just feels good to have a bike frame that's extremely difficult to destroy.

Re: The story of titanium

#53

Post by drcongo »

megraf wrote: post #19

Resting next to me is a titanium ring, it is extremely light, resistant to ambient temp change, and is usually cool to the touch. It cost $15 or so. It wears in a really beautiful way, aging like it's enjoying itself. On my finger is a tungsten carbide ring, it's extremely dense (that of gold, slightly heavier than uranium), and has a lot of interesting properties. It's warmed quickly by my fingers, and rings the mos…

I have a nickel allergy so titanium is my first port of call for jewellery, though my wedding ring is zirconium and some of my old, pre-allergy stuff is now plated with rhodium.

Re: The story of titanium

#54

Post by metal_am »

MeImCounting wrote: post #31
saberience wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're not talking about exotic and expensive varieties of steel though. We're just talking about "general" or common steel and comparing it to unalloyed "common"/"general" titanium. Remember, Steel is itself an alloy, Titanium is an element. If you start comparing Titanium alloys to Steel then the comparison gets even harder. Titanium alloys are in general stronger than steel as well as much lighter and more corrosio…

Pure elemental titanium has much less desirable material properties than various titanium alloys which are what you encounter most commonly. It is very uncommon to encounter elemental titanium outside of a chemistry lab.

Grade 1 is still pretty common for ultralight backpacking items like pots and pans due to its ductility.

Re: The story of titanium

#55

Post by nico_h »

efitz wrote: post #48
kylehotchkiss wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wear a titanium ring too and keep my real one safely locked away. It’s an incredible metal that I proudly wear around. Mine cost about the same. I also have a titanium pocketknife (James Brand), carabiner, keyrings, pens, camera (fujifilm makes a few), and some beloved snow peak dishes. And the silly titanium iPhone. It’s such a great metal to make things to carry with.

It’s not that great for blades as it doesn’t retain its edge as well as steel and is harder to sharpen.

It’s usually the frame and sides / scales that are made of titanium, never the blade afaik.

Except maybe in some multitool keyring single piece doohickeys, but it’s not expected to cut anything beside the tape on your packaging.

Re: The story of titanium

#56

Post by amluto »

avs733 wrote: post #10
hef19898 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Damn, imagine having a titanium shovel! I want one!

https://nearzero.co/products/shovel They exist! Meant for backpacking/back country work. I spent a summer as a wilderness search and rescue intern/volunteer/grunt/mule during college and was shocked at how much weight could have been saved with better gear. There’s just a minimal market for it.

That company sells titanium pots, too. And they say “ Titanium leaves no metallic smell or taste.”

I don’t believe it. Titanium is, mechanically, a great material for a lightweight pot, but in my limited testing, I don’t think it’s inert enough. Green tea in a titanium pot is especially nasty.

Re: The story of titanium

#57

Post by therein »

amluto wrote: post #56
avs733 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://nearzero.co/products/shovel They exist! Meant for backpacking/back country work. I spent a summer as a wilderness search and rescue intern/volunteer/grunt/mule during college and was shocked at how much weight could have been saved with better gear. There’s just a minimal market for it.

That company sells titanium pots, too. And they say “ Titanium leaves no metallic smell or taste.” I don’t believe it. Titanium is, mechanically, a great material for a lightweight pot, but in my limited testing, I don’t think it’s inert enough. Green tea in a titanium pot is especially nasty.

I had similar experiences with titanium cookware. Could it be acting as a catalyst to something that would otherwise not happen?

Re: The story of titanium

#58

Post by amluto »

JonChesterfield wrote: post #14
303uru wrote: post #12

Love titanium, something so cool about it. It’s like steel with no downsides. I’ve got 5 ti bikes and a few ti watches, one of my favorite pieces though is my snow peak double wall titanium mug.

What makes the mug particularly good? Always interested in something to improve coffee and recently broke my favourite one.

Tea, especially green tea, in a titanium mug is, in my experience, utterly gross.

Maybe anodized titanium would work better? I don’t know what the chemistry behind the problem is, but even stainless steel kills green tea after a while.

Re: The story of titanium

#60

Post by pocketstar »

hdivider wrote: post #51

Huge fan of Titanium. If only we could find a cheap way to get the metal out of titanium dioxide. Like a Haber process-level breakthrough. Then we could start replacing steel with titanium in many applications. Think entire freight trains, cargo ships, containers, cars, trucks, tractors -- all that heavy steel replaced by titanium alloys. Enormous quantities of fuel and energy saved by lower density and higher streng…

Fatigue is why we use steel for everything, no other alloys have the practical strength and infinite life.
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