The properties of Titanium are often confused due to poor US public school science classes (my teacher thought it was called titanium because a bit of it weighed more than usual). Titanium gets its notoriety in manufacturing because it is very resistant to corrosion and attack by acids. It is actually very malleable in its pure state and you can shape Titanium with a hammer.
A good way to tell if someone knows their facts on titanium is to ask them about its color. Alot of people will say titanium is yellow, when in fact pure titanium is white. the gold metal seen in manifacturing is actually an alloy which contains titanium. Titanium really shows its properties in alloys where its beneficial properties add to the overall strength of the metal. Usually the purpose of adding titanium to an alloy is to give the final material resistance to corrosion and acid. This is necessary in aircraft, etc.
Titanium is not as dense or as strong as various forms of steel and is actually better compared with aluminum. By comparison, Titanium is twice as dense as aluminum and one third stronger. Whereas titanium has one third the density of steel and half the strength.
In other words, if you build a chest plate out of titanium and someone shot you, it wouldnt protect you. If you build a vehicle out of titanium, it would gradually sag over time. While titanium has a relatively high melting point, it would certainly behave like warm taffy in the interim.
I always had a difficult time explaining to people in school (and even teachers!) that the strongest metals on earth are alloys NOT TITANIUM.
