Titanium is a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength.
Core Principles & Analysis
William Gregor found titanium in Cornish ilmenite sand in 1791, but ductile pure metal was not produced until 1910, and the Kroll process enabled industrial output in the 1940s.
It matches many steels in strength at roughly 45% less weight, resists seawater corrosion, and bonds so well with bone that implants fuse to it.
Titanium alloys build jet engines, airframes, and surgical implants, while most mined titanium becomes brilliant white titanium dioxide pigment for paint and paper.