Ductility
Ductility can be quantified by the fracture strain formula_1, which is the engineering strain at which a test specimen fractures during a uniaxial tensile test. Another commonly used measure is the reduction of area at fracture formula_2. The ductility of steel varies depending on the alloying constituents. Increasing the levels of carbon decreases ductility. Many plastics and amorphous solids, such as Play-Doh, are also malleable.
The most ductile metal is platinum and the most malleable metal is gold.
Post-transition metal
Bismuth is a soft metal (MH 2.5) that is too brittle for any structural use. It has an open-packed crystalline structure (BCN 3+3) with bonding that is intermediate between metallic and covalent. For a metal, it has exceptionally low electrical and thermal conductivity. Most of the ordinary compounds of bismuth are covalent in nature. The oxide, BiO is predominantly basic but will act as a weak acid in warm, very concentrated KOH. It can also be fused with potassium hydroxide in air, resulting in a brown mass of potassium bismuthate. The solution chemistry of bismuth is characterised by the formation of oxyanions; it forms anionic bismuthates in strongly basic solutions. Bismuth forms Zintl phases such as NaBi, RbInBi and BaCdBi. Bailar et al. refer to bismuth as being, 'the least "metallic" metal in its physical properties' given its brittle nature (and possibly) 'the lowest electrical conductivity of all metals.'