Brittle
All materials can be divided into three main classes: metals, nonmetals, and metalloids. Metals are typically good conductors of heat and electricity, malleable, and ductile, while nonmetals are usually poor conductors and can be gases or brittle solids. Metalloids exhibit properties intermediate between metals and nonmetals, making them useful in various applications, particularly in electronics. This classification helps in understanding the behavior and applications of different materials.
Im not sure about the atomic mass bit but Lanthanum is a silvery white, malleable, ductile, and soft rare-earth metal xx
Elements that can be hammered into shapes are typically metals, particularly those that are malleable and ductile. Examples include gold, silver, copper, aluminum, and iron. These metals can be easily deformed without breaking, allowing them to be shaped into various forms through processes like forging or stamping. Non-metal elements, such as certain allotropes of carbon (like graphite), can also be manipulated but are generally less common in traditional shaping applications.
It depends on how thick the gold wire is. Gold is extremely ductile.
It depends on how thin the wire is. Silver is very ductile. According to one source(*), an ounce of silver can be drawn out into a wire 60 miles long (316,800 feet) - such a wire would make a human hair look very thick by comparison. As a point of comparison, the same source notes that an ounce of gold, the most ductile of metals, can be drawn out into a wire 1300 miles (6,864,000 feet) long! (*) Hassell, Joseph, "Common Things and Elementary Science in the Form of Object Lessons", Blackie & Son, London, 1884. page 326 http://books.google.com/books?id=3qEIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0
Harb
Non metals are brittle. They are neither malleable nor ductile.
Brittle
Harb
Non-metals are not ductile or malleable. Also, they are not lustrous apart from one exception. They gain electrons or share them in general to from compounds.
nonmetals
Nonmetals
Metalloids generally have properties of both metals and nonmetals, but most metalloids are not malleable and ductile like metals. They are typically brittle and not easily shaped or stretched.
Brittleness is a property that is characteristic of many nonmetals and few metals. Metals are typically malleable and ductile, able to be bent and stretched without breaking, whereas nonmetals are often brittle and prone to shattering when subjected to force.
Common minerals that meet these criteria include gypsum, fluorite, and talc. These minerals are generally dull in luster, not malleable or ductile, and are non-conductive of electricity.
Nonmetals have properties opposite those of themetals. The nonmetals are brittle, not malleable or ductile, poor conductors of both heat and electricity, and tend to gain electrons in chemical reactions. Some nonmetals are liquids. These elements are shown in the following figure.
A substance that is malleable and ductile is typically a metal. Metals have these physical properties due to their metallic bonding, which allows the atoms to slide past each other easily without breaking. Nonmetals, on the other hand, tend to be brittle and lack these properties.