Tel. +39 080 4674390 info@metalrecuperi.it Toggle Menu THE LEAD LEAD The lead is a chemical element with atomic number 82. Its symbol is Pb . It belongs to the 14th group and the 6th period of the table of elements. It is a soft, dense, ductile and malleable metal. Freshly cut bluish white in color, when exposed to air it turns dark gray. Lead is used in construction, in the production of automotive batteries and bullets for firearms and, in the liquid state, as a coolant in nuclear reactors, sometimes in eutectic alloy with bismuth [1] . Lead is a component of pewter and metal alloys used for soldering. Both lead and its compounds are harmful; it also has a relatively low electrical conductivity. It can be made harder by adding a small amount of antimony. This alloy has long been used for typefaces. It is very resistant to corrosion: it is not affected by sulfuric acid, but it dissolves in nitric acid. It has the important property of absorbing radiation. It is assumed that all existing lead is derived from the decay of uranium-238 which turns into lead with a half-life of approximately 4.51 billion years. In the early twentieth century, however, it was believed that lead derived from the decay of radium. Lead occurs naturally in the environment. However, most of the lead found in nature is produced by human activities. Following the addition of lead to petrol, an artificial lead cycle was generated. Lead is burned in car engines and combines with other elements to form chlorides, bromides and oxides. Metalrecuperi Srl Imp. And headquarters: 70129 Bari - Ceglie del Campo SP70 Ceglie-Adelfia, 137 Imp. 70010 Valenzano (BA) SP70 Ceglie-Adelfia km 2 + 320 Search for: © 2021 Catalog Me! by impleCode By using the site, you accept our use of cookies. more information I accept