Group 12 element divalent metals. They have the lowest melting points among all transition metals. Zinc is bluish-white and lustrous, though most common commercial grades of the metal have a dull finish. Zinc is also referred to in nonscientific contexts as "spelter". Cadmium is soft, malleable, ductile, and with a bluish-white color. Mercury is a liquid, heavy, silvery-white metal. It is the only common liquid metal at ordinary temperatures, and as compared to other metals, it is a poor conductor of heat, but a fair conductor of electricity. The table below is a summary of the key physical properties of the group 12
Period 2 element alloys with aluminium, cadmium, copper and manganese are used to make high performance parts for aircraft, most notably the external tank of the Space Shuttle. Beryllium (Be) is the chemical element with atomic number 4, occurring in the form of Be. At standard temperature and pressure, beryllium is a strong, steel-grey, light-weight, brittle, bivalent alkali earth metal, with a density of 1.85 g·cm. It also has one of the highest melting points of all the light metals. Beryllium's most common isotope is Be, which contains 4 protons and 5 neutrons. It makes up almost 100% of all naturally occurring beryllium