Titanium

Titanium is a silvery-gray transition metal that combines strength with relatively low weight, making its alloys valuable for aircraft parts. A thin oxide layer forms on its surface in air and protects it against corrosion. Titanium and its alloys are also used for artificial joints and dental implants because they resist corrosion inside the body and are generally well tolerated by living tissue. In nature, titanium is bound to other elements in minerals, especially ilmenite and rutile. To obtain the metal, industry processes these ores into titanium tetrachloride, then uses magnesium to release titanium in the Kroll process.