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
Group 6 element 1924. For about a century after its isolation, molybdenum had no industrial use, owing to its relative scarcity, difficulty extracting the pure metal, and the immaturity of the metallurgical subfield. Early molybdenum steel alloys showed great promise in their increased hardness, but efforts were hampered by inconsistent results and a tendency toward brittleness and recrystallization. In 1906, William D. Coolidge filed a patent for rendering molybdenum ductile, leading to its use as a heating element for high-temperature furnaces and as a support for tungsten-filament light bulbs; oxide formation and degradation require that moly be physically sealed or held in an