To sponsor this element yourself, please contact Michelle Saxton, Dept. It is a steel-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish. Chromium is used to harden steel, to manufacture stainless steel, to form many alloys, and is used in plating to prevent corrosion. It is also used to give glass a green color, and finds wide use as a catalyst.
All compounds containing chromium are colored, and they have found many industrial uses, also.
They are used as oxidizing agents, in tanning leather, as pigments, and for anodizing aluminum for aircrafts. Chromite, a compound of chromium, has found major use in brick making since it has a high melting point, moderate thermal expansion, and a stable crystalline structure.