What makes metal surfaces shiny

This movement of electrons from lower to higher energy levels and vice versa causes electrons to vibrate at the atomic level. The wavelength of energy emitted by the electrons makes the metal shiny. Different metals emit different types of wavelengths. For example, copper and gold emit light in the wavelength range of nm which gives a yellow shiny appearance to the metal. This shiny appearance of the metal surface is known as luster.

Note that metals can reflect only visible and infrared light, not UV light. This is because the light with a specific frequency falling on the metal surface causes the electrons to vibrate with the same frequency. The electrons can match the low frequency of visible and infra light and thus reflects the light.

It means that a metal can be changed to another form by pulling, compression or twisting. It is the property of a substance by which it can be drawn into thin sheets. A malleable material is one in which a thin sheet can be easily formed by hammering or rolling. In other words, the material has the ability to deform under compressive stress.

A malleable material is one in which a thin sheet can be easily formed by hammering. Gold is the most malleable metal. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. JUL 05, A Need for Speed. Great white sharks are warm-blooded, and new research helps explain why.

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Now we can also understand why metals emit light when they are heated. The kinetic energy of the atoms increases with temperature which promotes electrons from low to higher energy orbitals. When these electrons lose that energy by returning to the ground state, it is emitted as light. The higher the temperature the shorter the wavelength of the emitted light. As a filament heats up, it first glows red and then increasing whiter as photons of more and more wavelengths are emitted.

This chapter has brought us to a point where we should have a fairly good idea of the kinds of interactions that can occur among atoms of the same element. We have seen that the properties of different elements can be explained by considering the structure of their atoms and in particular the way their electrons behave as the atoms interact to form molecules or large assemblies of atoms like diamond.

What we have not considered yet is how atoms of different elements interact to form compounds substances that have more than one element. In Chapter 4 we will take up this subject and much more. What properties indicate that a substance is metallic?