This anisotropy is greater than for any other metal. The thermal expansion coefficient shows similar anisotropic behavior, changing by a factor of 3 between the extremes. Gallium, unlike most materials, expands upon freezing, so that it cannot be stored in metal, ceramic or other rigid containers. Gallium is magnetic and is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. Gallium arsenide is very popular for chips in mobile communications, optoelectronics and photonics, high-speed data transfer, direct broadcast satellites and cable television.
Electrons move five times faster through gallium arsenide than through silicon.
Small quantities of metallic gallium are used for special dental alloys. Through Chemistry of the Elements by N. N. Greenwood, A. Earnshaw Greenwood and Earshaw is an excellent inorganic chemistry text as well as a valuable reference for the chemist or geochemist. Their systematic treatment of the elements by group within the periodic table makes for a coherent treatment of periodic properties. Besides the almost encyclopedic coverage of element chemistry, they cover the sources and uses of the elements and their compounds, making the chemistry much more relevant to everyday life. This is a good text for a university level inorganic class, but has enough general information that would be digestable for lower level students as well.