Browse Items (23 total)

Nickel silver does not actually contain silver but is a ternary alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc. The name arises from its attractive silver appearance.

Source:
"Nickel silver", Granta CES Edupack 2018, accessed June 2020

Tungsten is remarkable for its melting point of 3410 C when pure. This is a problem if you want to process it, but an attraction if you want to use it at high temperatures. Processing is solved by using powder methods -- the same methods used to…

Lead, when pure, is very soft and, with it low melting point (327 C) it creeps, even at room temperature -- old lead pipes acquire a sag between fixing points over time. There are two broad classes of alloys base on lead. The first, typified by the…

Tin (symbol Sn) has been know to man since at least 3500 BC. The discovery that copper alloyed with tin to give bronze, greatly improving the mechanical properties, launched the Bronze age. In 1800 Napoleon offered prize of 12,000 francs for a…

With a name like "superalloy" there has to be something special here. There is. Superalloy is a name applied to nickel-based, iron-based and cobalt-based alloys that combine exceptional high-temperature strength with excellent corrosion and…

Magnesium is a metal almost indistinguishable from aluminum in color, but of lower density. It is the lightest of the light-metal trio (with partners aluminum and titanium) and light it is - a computer case made from magnesium is barely two thirds…

When the Romans conquered Britain in 43AD they discovered rich deposits of lead ore and started a mining and refining industry that was to continue for 1000 years (the symbol for lead - Pb - derives from its Latin name - Plumbum). They used it for…

The high-strength aluminum alloys rely on age-hardening - a sequence of heat treatment steps that causes the precipitation of a nano-scale dispersion of intermetallics that impede dislocation motion and impart strength. This can be as high as 700 MPa…

Bismuth has long been known as the element with the highest atomic mass that is stable. Demand for bismuth metal has grown recently due to its effective use as a substitute for lead.

Brasses are alloys of copper (Cu) with 5 - 40% zinc (Zn). They combine excellent formability and machinability with good corrosion resistance. As the zinc content increases the melting point, density, modulus and electrical and thermal conductivities…