Metal vs. Medal: What’s the Difference?
Main Difference
The main difference between Metal and Medal is that the Metal is a element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat and Medal is a round piece of metal, often used as an award.
Metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον métallon, “mine, quarry, metal”) is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typically malleable (they can be hammered into thin sheets) or ductile (can be drawn into wires). A metal may be a chemical element such as iron, or an alloy such as stainless steel.
In physics, a metal is generally regarded as any substance capable of conducting electricity at a temperature of absolute zero. Many elements and compounds that are not normally classified as metals become metallic under high pressures. For example, the nonmetal iodine gradually becomes a metal at a pressure of between 40 and 170 thousand times atmospheric pressure. Equally, some materials regarded as metals can become nonmetals. Sodium, for example, becomes a nonmetal at pressure of just under two million times atmospheric pressure.
In chemistry, two elements that would otherwise qualify (in physics) as brittle metals—arsenic and antimony—are commonly instead recognised as metalloids, on account of their predominately non-metallic chemistry. Around 95 of the 118 elements in the periodic table are metals (or are likely to be such). The number is inexact as the boundaries between metals, nonmetals, and metalloids fluctuate slightly due to a lack of universally accepted definitions of the categories involved.
In astrophysics the term “metal” is cast more widely to refer to all chemical elements in a star that are heavier than the lightest two, hydrogen and helium, and not just traditional metals. A star fuses lighter atoms, mostly hydrogen and helium, into heavier atoms over its lifetime. Used in that sense, the metallicity of an astronomical object is the proportion of its matter made up of the heavier chemical elements.Metals comprise 25% of the Earth’s crust and are present in many aspects of modern life. The strength and resilience of some metals has led to their frequent use in, for example, high-rise building and bridge construction, as well as most vehicles, many home appliances, tools, pipes, and railroad tracks. Precious metals were historically used as coinage, but in the modern era, coinage metals have extended to at least 23 of the chemical elements.The history of metals is thought to begin with the use of copper about 11,000 years ago. Gold, silver, iron (as meteoric iron), lead, and brass were likewise in use before the first known appearance of bronze in the 5th millennium BCE. Subsequent developments include the production of early forms of steel; the discovery of sodium—the first light metal—in 1809; the rise of modern alloy steels; and, since the end of World War II, the development of more sophisticated alloys.
Medal
A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are given as awards. They may be intended to be worn, suspended from clothing or jewellery in some way. They are traditionally struck like a coin by dies.
A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for sporting, military, scientific, cultural, academic, or various other achievements. Military awards and decorations are more precise terms for certain types of state decoration. Medals may also be created for sale to commemorate particular individuals or events, or as works of artistic expression in their own right. In the past, medals commissioned for an individual, typically with their portrait, were often used as a form of diplomatic or personal gift, with no sense of being an award for the conduct of the recipient.
An artist who creates medals or medallions is called a “medalist”. Medals have long been popular collectible items, and in numismatics form a class called either exonumia or militaria.
In the proper use of the term, medallions are larger, starting at perhaps four inches across, and are, as such, usually too large to be worn very comfortably, though in colloquial use, “medallion” is often used to refer to a medal used as the pendant of a necklace (as in the medallion man fashion style of the 1960s and 1970s), or for other types of medals. Medallions may also be called “table medals” because they are too large to be worn and can only be displayed on a wall, table top, desk, or cabinet.
Metal (noun)
Chemical elements or alloys, and the mines where their ores come from.
Metal (noun)
Any of a number of chemical elements in the periodic table that form a metallic bond with other metal atoms; generally shiny, somewhat malleable and hard, often a conductor of heat and electricity.
Metal (noun)
Any material with similar physical properties, such as an alloy.
Metal (noun)
An element which was not directly created after the Big Bang but instead formed through nuclear reactions; any element other than hydrogen and helium.
Metal (noun)
Crushed rock, stones etc. used to make a road.
Metal (noun)
The ore from which a metal is derived.
Metal (noun)
A light tincture used in a coat of arms, specifically argent and or.
Metal (noun)
Molten glass that is to be blown or moulded to form objects.
Metal (noun)
A category of rock music encompassing a number of genres (including thrash metal, death metal, heavy metal, etc.) characterized by strong drum-beats and distorted guitars.
Metal (noun)
The substance that constitutes something or someone; matter; hence, character or temper; mettle.
Metal (noun)
The effective power or calibre of guns carried by a vessel of war.
Metal (noun)
The rails of a railway.
Metal (noun)
The actual airline operating a flight, rather than any of the codeshare operators.
“We have American Airlines tickets, but it’s on British Airways metal.”
Metal (adjective)
Characterized by strong drum-beats and distorted guitars. 1970s and after
Metal (adjective)
Having the emotional or social characteristics associated with metal music; brash, bold, frank, unyielding, etc.
Metal (verb)
To make a road using crushed rock, stones etc.
Medal (noun)
A stamped metal disc used as a personal ornament, a charm, or a religious object.
Medal (noun)
A stamped or cast metal object (usually a disc), particularly one awarded as a prize or reward.
Medal (verb)
To win a medal.
“He medalled twice at the Olympics.”
Medal (verb)
To award a medal to.
Metal (noun)
a solid material which is typically hard, shiny, malleable, fusible, and ductile, with good electrical and thermal conductivity (e.g. iron, gold, silver, and aluminium, and alloys such as steel)
“being a metal, aluminium readily conducts heat”
“an adjustable pole made of metal”
Metal (noun)
the steel tracks of a railway
“the locomotive is presently being made ready for operation over Network SouthEast metals”
Metal (noun)
gold and silver (as tinctures in blazoning).
Metal (noun)
broken stone for use in making roads
“the work also involves dealing with rock aggregates for potential use as suitable road metal”
Metal (noun)
molten glass before it is blown or cast.
Metal (noun)
heavy metal or similar rock music
“crunching power-trio metal”
“industrial music is also a blend of metal and techno”
Metal (verb)
made from or coated with metal
“a range of metalled key rings”
Metal (verb)
make or mend (a road) with road metal
“the road was metalled and tolls charged for the upkeep”
“follow the metalled road for about 200 yards”
Medal (noun)
a metal disc typically of the size of a large coin and bearing an inscription or design, made to commemorate an event or awarded as a distinction to someone such as a soldier or athlete.
Medal (verb)
win a medal in a sporting event
“they medalled in all the relay events”
Medal (verb)
decorate or honour with a medal
“the most medalled athlete in Britain”
ncG1vNJzZmilkZ67pbXFn5yrnZ6Ysm%2B6xK1mpp2klrluwtJmpJ6ckaF8