Metal

Metal, element that has high specific gravity; high opacity and reflectivity to light (giving a characteristic luster when polished); ability to be hammered into thin sheets and drawn into wires (i.e., is malleable and ductile); and is a good conductor of heat and electricity, its electrical conductivity decreasing with temperature. Roughly 75% of the chemical elements are metals, but not all of them possess all the typical metallic properties. Most are found as ores and in the pure state are crystalline solids (mercury, liquid at room temperature, being a notable exception), their atoms readily losing electrons to become positive ions. Alloys are easily formed because of the nonspecific nondirectional nature of the metallic bond.