Nickel is a transition metal in Group VIIIB (Group 10) and the 4th period. Others in the nickel group are palladium (Pd) and platinum (Pt).

In 1751 Cronstedt discovered nickel in kupfernickel (niccolite or nickel arsenide). The metal was prepared by heating nickel oxide with charcoal,

NiO (k) + C (k) Ni (k) + CO (d)

a reaction typical of many metals.

The name comes from the German word, Nickel, for Satan or "Old Nick". The nickel-containing ore was called kupfernickel, meaning Old Nick's copper or false copper, and the symbol Ni is an abbreviation of the name.

The metal is silvery-white and takes on a high polish. It is hard, malleable, ductile, somewhat ferromagnetic, and a fair conductor of heat and electricity. In the solid state, the metal has a face-centered cubic structure.

Nickel is found as a constituent in most meteorites and often serves as one of the criteria for distinguishing a meteorite from other minerals. Iron meteorites, or siderites, may contain iron alloyed with 5-20% nickel.

The metal is obtained commercially from petlandite (nickel sufide) and pyrrohotite (magnetic pyrites) of the Sudbury region of Ontario, Canada. This district produces about half of the nickel in the world.

The metal is chiefly valuable for the alloys it forms. It is extensively used for making stainless steel and other corrosion resistant alloys, such as Invar, Monel, Inconel, and the Hastelloys. It is also used in coinage, in making nickel steel for armor plate and burglar-proof vaults, and is a component in Nichrome, Permalloy, and Constantan.

Nickel plating is often used to provide a protective coating for other metals, and finely divided nickel is a catalyst for hydrogenating vegetable oils. It is also used in ceramics, in the manufacture of Alnico magnets, and in the Edison storage battery.

Nickel oxide added to glass gives a green color to the glass.