ABSTRACT
Magnesium is the eleventh most abundantly occurring element in the human body by mass, and is essential for all cells and for about 300 enzymes. Magnesium is the ninth element most abundant in the universe and the eighth most abundant in the earth crust, but the fourth most commonly occurring element on Earth, after iron, oxygen and silicon, constituting 13% of the planet mass and constitutes about 2% of the crust of the Earth. Magnesium occurs naturally only in combination with other elements, where invariably it has the oxidation state. Magnesium is used most frequently in aluminium alloys as an alloy additive, which is added to improve strength and corrosion resistance. It is also used as an additive in zinc alloys to improve mechanical properties and dimensional stability. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
