Nichrome wire

Nichrome (NiCr, nickel-chrome, chrome-nickel, etc.) are alloys of nickel, chromium, and often iron (and possibly other elements or substances). The most common usage is as resistance wire, though they are also used in some dental restorations (fillings) and in a few other applications.

Patented in 1905, Nichrome is the oldest documented form of resistance heating alloy. A common Nichrome alloy is 80% nickel and 20% chromium, by mass, but there are many other combinations of metals for various applications. Nichrome is consistently silvery-grey in colour, is corrosion-resistant, and has a high melting point of about 1,400 °C (2,550 °F). Due to its low cost of manufacture, strength, ductility, resistance to oxidation and stability at high temperatures, as well as its resistance to the flow of electrons, Nichrome is widely used in electric heating elements such as in hair dryers and heat guns. Typically, nichrome is wound in coils to a certain electrical resistance, and current is passed through it— the resulting friction (actually, joule heating) produces heat.

Almost any conductive wire can be used for heating, but most metals conduct electricity with great efficiency, requiring them to be formed into very thin/ delicate wires in order to create enough resistance to generate heat. Once heated, most metals then oxidize quickly, become brittle, and break when heated in air. When heated to red hot temperatures, nichrome wire, however, develops an outer layer of chromium oxide, thermodynamically stable in air, mostly impervious to oxygen, and protects the heating element from further oxidation.

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