Magnesium

Given our everyday interactions with metals like steel, which is used in everything from cars, planes and boats, through to skyscrapers, bridges and other engineering projects of a gargantuan scale, it’s easy to understand why metals are perceived to be heavy materials. But magnesium is lighter than many woods and almost half as dense as aluminium. Its lightweight nature makes it a highly attractive option in weight-critical applications, such as in bikes and cars, where there is a strong demand to reduce weight in an effort to reduce fuel costs, without sacrificing material strength. Amorphous magnesium is a particularly intriguing material in this respect.

Magnesium is also well known to fireworks lovers: when exposed to a flame, magnesium ignites and emits an intensely white light. In the case of fireworks, it is used in powder form together with a range of other substances, which burn to produce the range of different colours we see during light shows.