Three stainless steel water bottles in a line. They are black, green and orange from left to right. This is meant to display steel's corrosion resistance to water.

What’s The Most Vital Metal Characteristic?

Do you know how much of your everyday life is influenced by the properties of different metals? Take a look around the room that you’re in. There are likely several objects, appliances, and devices that all use metal characteristics to function. It’s safe to say that society wouldn’t run anywhere near as efficiently if metals didn’t have these traits! With so many different traits that our Earth’s metals can have, which one is the most important for everyday life? It’s not an easy question to answer; we unpack it below!

Conductivity

If you still have your holiday lights up, go and take a closer look at them. This also works if you have an electronic home appliance. If you take it apart and look closely, you’ll realize that the wires connecting and powering everything are made out of copper. Metals that have great conductivity of heat and electricity are paramount to how well our household objects function. Telephone lines and power lines also take advantage of this metal characteristic. Much of the technology and cookware that we use today relies on metal conductivity.

Corrosion Resistance

No two metals that have good resistance to corrosion are the same. Why is this the case? It’s because it depends on what element that the metal best resists corrosion from! Metals can do well against water, heat, electricity and cold. Metals like these are important for seacraft and aircraft parts, making them a vital component of transportation as we know it. Corrosion resistance is also important for marine and interstellar research, meaning we wouldn’t know everything we know without it!

Strength

Metals are definitely known for being strong, but the strongest and most durable metals are important for a variety of applications. For example, aluminum is commonly used to construct window frames. Thanks to its strength and durability, windows with aluminum frames do a better job of providing insulation to your home. The strength of steel makes it a viable option for use in automobile and aircraft parts. Sometimes, these vehicles can be hit with insane force; the strength of their material prevents the worst damage to the valuables inside.

What’s The Answer?

So, what is the most important metal characteristic? It depends on who you ask! All of these strengths are what make our society as well-functioning as it is today. If you need metal shaped and formed for your next application, bring it to Markham Metals! We specialize in a variety of metalworking services that prepare them for use in the most important aspects of life. To get started, click here to request a quote!