Elektron (alloy)

Elektron is the registered trademark of a wide range of magnesium alloys manufactured by a British company, Magnesium Elektron Limited.

There are about 100 different alloys in the Elektron range, containing from 0% to 9.5% of some of the following elements in varying proportions: aluminium (< 9.5%), yttrium (5.25%), neodymium (2.7%), silver (2.5%), gadolinium (1.3%), zinc (0.9%), zirconium (0.6%), manganese (0.5%) and other rare earth metals.

Varying amounts of alloying elements (up to 9.5%) added to the magnesium result in changes to mechanical properties such as increased tensile strength, creep resistance, thermal stability or corrosion resistance. Elektron is unusually light and has a specific gravity of about 1.8 compared with the 2.8 of aluminium alloy. Magnesium's relatively low density makes its alloy variants suitable for use in auto racing and aerospace engineering applications.

Elektron or Elektronmetall was first developed in 1908 by Gustav Pistor and Wilhelm Moschel at the Bitterfeld works of Chemische Fabrik Griesheim-Elektron (CFGE or CFG), whose HQ was in Griesheim am Main, Germany. The composition of the initial Elektron alloy was approximately Mg 90%, Al 9%, other 1%. At its pavilion at the International Air Transport Fair (Internationale Luftschiffahrt-Ausstellung, ILA) in Frankfurt am Main in 1909, CFG exhibited an Adler 75HP engine with a cast magnesium alloy crankcase. Also exhibiting at the 1909 Frankfurt Air Exhibition was August Euler (1868–1957) – owner of German pilot's licence No. 1 – who manufactured Voisin biplanes under licence in Griesheim am Main. His Voisins with Adler 50 hp engines flew in October 1909.

...
Wikipedia