Vanadium
Real Metals · Uncommon · Modern
Less than two parts in a thousand, and the steel stops shattering. Vanadium locks loose carbon into fine carbides that pin the grain small, which buys toughness for almost no weight and almost no money. It is the reason a cheap spanner bends before it snaps.
Identity
- Symbol
- V
- Atomic number
- 23
- Source
- Natural element
- Also known as
- V
- Ores of the industrial age
- Carnotite, Magnetite, Patronite, Vanadinite
- Ore deposits
- Oxidized zone (gossan)
Physical Properties
- Appearance
- Bright white-silver, hard and ductile, resists corrosion from alkalis and acids
- Luster
- Metallic
- Density
- 6.11 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 1910 °C
- Boiling point
- 3407 °C
- Lighter
- Deepcoral Metal
- Denser
- Nitinol
- Magnetism
- Non-magnetic
- Electrical conductivity
- Medium
Mechanical Properties
- Mohs hardness
- 6.7
- Tensile strength
- 800 MPa
- Softer
- Tamahagane
- Harder
- Bloodiron
- Workability
- Moderate
- Brittleness
- Tough
- Malleability
- Moderate
- Ductility
- High
Chemical Properties
- Corrosion resistance
- Very High
- Reactivity
- Low
Lore & Narrative
Henry Ford introduced vanadium steel to automobile manufacturing after seeing a French racing car wreck and realising the steel in its chassis was far lighter and stronger than anything available in America. The Model T was built on a vanadium steel frame.
- Notable uses
- High-strength steel, tool steel, titanium alloys, energy storage
- Forge uses
- steel alloys, tool steel, Aerospace
- Worldbuilding traits
- strength-enhancing, Modern, Industrial, Alloy-base
Sources
- U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025: Vanadium, USGS, 2025
- Vanadium, Wikipedia
- Vanadinite, Wikipedia
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