Melting Point

Understanding the importance of the melting point of substances is more important than you might think. At first glance you might think it is only important in a favorite candy that uses the slogan that it "melts in your mouth, not in your hand", but we are exposed to this concept in many ways. When we place a bit of butter in a frying pan it melts, when we have a scoop of ice cream in a cone it melts, and when we put a piece of ice in a glass of water it melts. Each and every day we are likely to experience the melting of something.

The melting point of gold is one of the properties that has made it an important element in the making of jewelry, but gold is rated by it's purity and most jewelry is made of a mixture of gold and other metals to give it added hardness. When a jeweler has to make a gold ring larger or smaller they can often change the size by simply cutting the ring and then taking some material away or adding material. The ring must then be joined back together where it was cut and the jeweler uses a gold metal that has a different melting point than the gold in the ring. By using a different grade of gold the added metal is a type that can melt at a slightly lower temperature than the metal in the ring.

When most elements melt they change to a liquid, but some things like solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) do not melt, they change directly from a solid to a gas. This means that the melting of substances is not universal. Melting of rock seems absurd from our everyday experiences, but melted rock inside the Earth is magma and when flowing ou to the surface of the Earth it is called lava.

The melting point of platinum is so high and other properties of platinum make it great for the tips of spark plugs. Although not commonly used for the spark plugs in cars, it is more common for spark plugs in small airplanes. Platinum is also used in catalytic converters because of it's high melting point and also because it assists in the catalytic process.

The melting point of copper is relatively low and this made it a great substance for plumbing for many years. At the joints other metals were used to create a seal to prevent leaks, but the metals used to make the seal had to be able to melt at a lower temperature than the copper pipe. Today a lot of plumbing has been changed to use plastic because of the cost of copper.

Global warming is related to the melting point of water (ice) and this melting point could create one dramatic example of how important melting point is in our life.