noble metal
1
6.4
- noun
- /ˈnoʊbəl ˈmɛtəl/
- Specialized
:
metal noble
- Alkanethiols self-assemble on noble-metal surfaces such as Au, Ag, and Cu to form dense, ordered monolayers.
Examples
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Finally, the cupels were made with bone ash, which separates noble metals from lead by absorbing the latter, leaving the gold or silver on the surface.
Academic text (2004) -
"Nitrogen made a huge difference; it expanded the lattice of nickel-molybdenum, increased its electron density, made an electronic structure approaching that of noble metals, and prevented corrosion."
Blog text (9) -
Gold is the noble metal, at the top of the metals hierarchy of the Great Chain of Being.
Academic text (2006) -
On a practical level, these alchemists were often involved in brass making, goldsmithing, and assessing the noble metal content of ore, jewelry, or coins.
Academic text (2004) -
On a high-quality (111) surface of a noble metal such as copper, some electrons go into surface states and form a two-dimensional electron gas.
Academic text (1993) -
Again, although I'm not sure of the details, I would be unsurprised to see a noble metal catalyst in use (a fantastic way to increase costs, see rhodium above).
Blog text (34) -
But with rapidly rising costs—already hovering around $50,000 per kilogram—platinum and other noble metals discourage widespread investment.
Blog text (9) -
Gold is a noble metal because it doesn't corrode easily over time.
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Among all the noble metals, silver is known for its excellent conductivity and resistance to tarnishing.
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Investors often choose to buy noble metals like platinum and gold as a safe investment during economic uncertainty.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A soft yellow metal that is valuable and used for jewelry and money
96
4.2
A heavy valuable shiny white metal used in jewelry and science
19
3.8
A rare metal like gold or silver that has high value
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase relies on a technical sense of 'noble' (chemically unreactive/resistant to corrosion) rather than the everyday meaning 'honourable' — a B1 learner who only knows the common sense may infer 'precious' or 'high-quality' metal (e.g. gold), which overlaps partly but does not guarantee understanding of the corrosion-resistant property. The composition is partly predictable and common cross-linguistically in scientific contexts, but it requires domain knowledge to fully derive the intended meaning.
Etymology
Noble metal comes from a simple image: people thought these metals were like noble people who keep apart from others. They called a metal noble because it did not 'mix' or 'react' with other things and so stayed bright and did not rust. That's why noble metal means a metal that 'resists rust and tarnish'.