Interesting Facts About Titanium

Despite the number of years since titanium was first discovered, it continues to surprise people to this day. We love to hear feedback when our customers experience the greatness of titanium or seeing the faces of people who have no experience with it when they get to interact with our product and learn about it in person at trade shows.

Watching someone who works primarily with steel handle a sample of a steel part and then handle the exact same part crafted from titanium can be priceless. Even after experiencing the feel of titanium, people are often scared off by the “unknown” of working with titanium.

Fun Facts About Titanium

1. It took 119 years after titanium was first discovered just to isolate it into a pure sample.


2. It is never found in its pure form naturally, it can only be found bonded to other elements.


3. Titanium is corrosion resistant, even from water and chlorine.


4. Titanium is found in almost every living thing.


5. It is the 9^th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, even though it only makes up less than 1% of it by mass.


6. The Guggenheim Museum in Spain is covered in titanium.


7. Titanium is commonly used in medical implants and body jewelry because its characteristics make it safe- it is non-toxic and easily accepted by the body. It can also “osseointegrate”, which means it can bond with bone tissue.


8. It burns in Nitrogen.


9. Anodizing titanium can produce interesting color effects.


10. Titanium is so versatile it is used in applications ranging from jewelry to knives and firearms, dental implants to military and commercial aircraft components, sports equipment to architecture.


11. It was discovered in 1791 by a mineralogist, but it wasn’t named until 4 years later by a chemist.


12. The name titanium came from the Titans of Greek Mythology.


13. China produces the most titanium in the world, followed by Russia.


14. Titanium is generally as strong as steel, but half the weight.


15. Titanium is assigned the atomic number 22 and its symbol is Ti.


16. The Kroll process is the main production method for titanium, and it has many different steps.


17. Titanium powder and shavings can be highly flammable.


18. Countries stockpiled titanium during the Cold War.


19. Titanium Dioxide is the most common form. It is used in paint, sunscreen, and more.


20. It’s becoming more common in different areas of racing thanks to its awesome strength to weight ratio.

We have experience with customers from many different industries, using titanium for many different end products, and putting it through many different processes. Working with titanium may take some getting used to, but there are many advantages and cool things about this metal. And the strength-to-weight ratio of titanium is not it’s an only unique attribute. It seems like there is always something new to learn about this “wonder metal”.

At TMS Titanium, titanium is all we do- we’re big fans. And we love to spread the word about the magic of titanium. Here are a few titanium facts we find pretty interesting (including things you won’t learn through a sales pitch).

Titanium is a Wonder Metal!