What is "heavy metal"

Heavy \Heav"y\, a. [Compar. Heavier; superl. Heaviest.] [OE. hevi, AS. hefig, fr. hebban to lift, heave; akin to OHG. hebig, hevig, Icel. h["o]figr, h["o]fugr. See Heave.]

1. Heaved or lifted with labor; not light; weighty; ponderous; as, a heavy stone; hence, sometimes, large in extent, quantity, or effects; as, a heavy fall of rain or snow; a heavy failure; heavy business transactions, etc.; often implying strength; as, a heavy barrier; also, difficult to move; as, a heavy draught.

2. Not easy to bear; burdensome; oppressive; hard to endure or accomplish; hence, grievous, afflictive; as, heavy yokes, expenses, undertakings, trials, news, etc.

   The hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod.
   --1 Sam. v. 6.

   The king himself hath a heavy reckoning to make.
   --Shak.

   Sent hither to impart the heavy news.
   --Wordsworth.

   Trust him not in matter of heavy consequence.
   --Shak.

3. Laden with that which is weighty; encumbered; burdened; bowed down, either with an actual burden, or with care, grief, pain, disappointment.

   The heavy [sorrowing] nobles all in council were.
   --Chapman.

   A light wife doth make a heavy husband.
   --Shak.

4. Slow; sluggish; inactive; or lifeless, dull, inanimate, stupid; as, a heavy gait, looks, manners, style, and the like; a heavy writer or book.

   Whilst the heavy plowman snores.
   --Shak.

   Of a heavy, dull, degenerate mind.
   --Dryden.

   Neither [is] his ear heavy, that it can not hear.
   --Is. lix. 1.

5. Strong; violent; forcible; as, a heavy sea, storm, cannonade, and the like.

6. Loud; deep; -- said of sound; as, heavy thunder.

   But, hark! that heavy sound breaks in once more.
   --Byron.

7. Dark with clouds, or ready to rain; gloomy; -- said of the sky.

8. Impeding motion; cloggy; clayey; -- said of earth; as, a heavy road, soil, and the like.

9. Not raised or made light; as, heavy bread.

10. Not agreeable to, or suitable for, the stomach; not easily digested; -- said of food.

11. Having much body or strength; -- said of wines, or other liquors.

12. With child; pregnant. [R.] Heavy artillery. (Mil.)

    1. Guns of great weight or large caliber, esp. siege, garrison, and seacoast guns.

    2. Troops which serve heavy guns.

       Heavy cavalry. See under Cavalry.

       Heavy fire (Mil.), a continuous or destructive cannonading, or discharge of small arms.

       Heavy metal (Mil.), large guns carrying balls of a large size; also, large balls for such guns.

       Heavy metals. (Chem.) See under Metal.

       Heavy weight, in wrestling, boxing, etc., a term applied to the heaviest of the classes into which contestants are divided. Cf. Feather weight

    3. , under Feather.

       Note: Heavy is used in composition to form many words which need no special explanation; as, heavy-built, heavy-browed, heavy-gaited, etc.

n. 1 Any metal that has a specific gravity greater than about 5, especially one, such as lead, that is poisonous and may be a hazard in the environment. 2 (context music English) A genre descended from rock music, characterized by massive sound, highly amplified distortion, and overall loudness, often with extended guitar solos, and lyrics that involve violent or fantastic imagery.

1. n. a metal of relatively high density (specific gravity greater than about 5) or of high relative atomic weight

2. loud and harsh sounding rock music with a strong beat; lyrics usually involve violent or fantastic imagery

Heavy metal may refer to:

• Heavy metal (science and technology), any relatively dense metal or metalloid
  • Toxic heavy metal, any heavy metal chemical element of environmental concern
• Heavy metal music, a musical genre
• Heavy Metal (magazine), an American fantasy magazine based on the French magazine Métal Hurlant
  • Heavy Metal (film), a 1981 animated film based on the magazine
  • Heavy Metal 2000, a followup to the 1981 film

Erick Francisco Casas Ruiz is a Mexican professional wrestler currently working under the ring name Heavy Metal for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA). He is the son of referee Pepe Casas and part of the Casas wrestling family; the brother of Negro Casas and Felino.

"Heavy Metal" is the fourth episode of the American television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Aired on February 4, 2008, this episode features the discovery and stymieing of another Terminator and its preparatory mission to artificially bolster Skynet's future war resources, as well as Cromartie's realization of his new human disguise.

Heavy Metal is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series. He is the G.I. Joe Team's M.B.T. Mauler Tank driver and debuted in 1985.

Heavy Metal is a group of villains of the Marvel Universe. They first appeared in Avengers vol. 1 #288 and apparently disbanded after their defeat in Avengers vol. 1 #290.

Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French science-fantasy magazine Métal Hurlant which had debuted January 1975. The French title translates literally as "Howling Metal".

When Mogel licensed the American version, he chose to rename it, and Heavy Metal began in the U.S. in April 1977 as a glossy, full-color monthly. Initially, it displayed translations of graphic stories originally published in Métal Hurlant, including work by Enki Bilal, Philippe Caza, Guido Crepax, Philippe Druillet, Jean-Claude Forest, Jean Giraud (aka Moebius) and Milo Manara. The magazine later ran Stefano Tamburini and Tanino Liberatore's ultra-violent RanXerox. Since the color pages had already been shot in France, the budget to reproduce them in the U.S. version was greatly reduced.

Heavy Metal is a 1981 Canadian-American adult animated anthology science fiction fantasy film directed by Gerald Potterton and produced by Ivan Reitman and Leonard Mogel, who also was the publisher of Heavy Metal magazine, the basis for the film. The screenplay was written by Daniel Goldberg and Len Blum. The film was the sixth animated feature film to be presented in Dolby surround sound.

The film is an anthology of various science fiction and fantasy stories adapted from Heavy Metal magazine and original stories in the same spirit. Like the magazine, the film features a great deal of graphic violence, sexuality, and nudity. Its production was expedited by having several animation houses working simultaneously on different segments, including CinéGroupe and Atkinson Film-Arts.

A sequel titled Heavy Metal 2000 was released in 2000.

A heavy metal is generally defined as a metal with a relatively high density, atomic weight or atomic number. The criteria used, and whether metalloids or alloys are included, vary depending on the author and context. In metallurgy, for example, a heavy metal may be defined on the basis of density, whereas in physics the distinguishing criterion might be atomic number, while a chemist would likely be more concerned with chemical behaviour. More specific definitions have been published but none of these have been widely accepted. The number of periodic table metals covered ranges from around ten to seventy, or more if elements heavier than uranium are counted. Despite this lack of agreement the term is widely used in science.

All metals known up to 1807, including common metals such as iron, copper, and tin, and precious metals like silver, gold and platinum, are heavy metals. Light metals, such as magnesium, aluminium and titanium, and less well-known heavy metals like gallium, thallium and hafnium have only been known only since that time.

Heavy metals are often assumed to be toxic. Some, such as cadmium, mercury and lead, are notably toxic. Others like ruthenium, silver, indium and bismuth are relatively harmless but can be toxic in large amounts or certain forms. Potential sources of heavy metal poisoning include mining and industrial wastes, agricultural runoff, occupational exposure and contact with lead-based paints. Certain heavy metals—typically manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper and zinc—are essential nutrients. The human body contains, for example, several grams of iron.

Physical and chemical characterizations of heavy metals need to be treated with caution as the metals involved are not aways consistently defined. As well as being relatively dense, heavy metals tend to be less reactive than lighter metals and have much less soluble sulfides and hydroxides. While it is relatively easy to distinguish a heavy metal such as tungsten from a lighter metal such as sodium, a few heavy metals such as zinc, mercury and lead have some of the characteristics of lighter metals, and lighter metals such as beryllium, scandium and titanium have some of the characteristics of heavier metals.

Heavy metals are relatively scarce in the Earth's crust but are present in many aspects of modern life. They are used in, for example, golf clubs, cars, antiseptics, self-cleaning ovens, plastics, solar panels, mobile phones and particle accelerators.