<Hello, several people have mentioned titanium in this thread, but I think
<that the more common metal used for implants is tantalum, which was found
<many years ago to be suitable because of its relative inertness in the body.
<I think the original poster must have been talking about tantalum although
<he misspelled it.
Titanium is used alot in medical implants, it is inert, lightweight
and strong. The only draw back is that it doesnt have alot of surface
hardness, so the manufacturers of joint replacements plate the
bearing surfaces with a nickel/cobalt alloy. This mates up with a
ultra high mollecular weight plastic socket, as you wouldnt want metel
to metel bearing surfaces.
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