bronze
Information about bronze
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Bronze is any of a broad range of copper alloys, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon. (See table below.) It was particularly significant in antiquity, giving its name to the Bronze Age. That name, in turn, is perhaps ultimately taken from the Persian word "birinj," meaning "copper".[1]
History of Bronze
Bronze was significant to any culture that encountered it. It was one of the most innovative alloys of mankind. Tools, weapons, armor, and various building materials like decorative tiles made of bronze were harder and more durable than their stone and copper ("Chalcolithic") predecessors. In early use, the impurity arsenic sometimes created a superior alloy; this is termed arsenical bronze.The earliest tin-alloy bronzes date to the late 4th millennium BC in Susa (Iran) and some ancient sites in Luristan (Iran) and Mesopotamia (Iraq).
While copper and tin can naturally co-occur, the two ores are rarely found together (although one ancient site in Thailand and one in Iran provide counterexamples). Serious bronze work has therefore always involved trade (and the compelling idea that there were really traders in such goods). In fact, archaeologists suspect that a serious disruption of the tin trade precipitated the transition to the Iron Age. In Europe, the major source for tin was Great Britain, where significant deposits of ore could be found in Cornwall. Phoenician traders visited Great Britain to trade goods from the Mediterranean for tin.
Bronze is stronger (harder)[2] than wrought iron, but the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age. That may have been because the shipping of tin around the Mediterranean (or from Great Britain) became more limited during the major population migrations around 1200 – 1100 BC, which dramatically limited supplies and raised prices.[3] Bronze was still used during the Iron Age, but for many purposes the weaker wrought iron was found to be sufficiently strong. As ironworking improved, iron became cheaper, and people figured out how to make steel, which is stronger than bronze, holding a sharper edge longer.[4]
Properties
With the exception of steel, bronze is superior to iron in nearly every application. Although bronze develops a patina, it does not oxidize beyond the surface. It is considerably less brittle than iron and has a lower casting temperature.Copper-based alloys have lower melting points than steel and are more readily produced from their constituent metals. They are generally about 10 percent heavier than steel, although alloys using aluminium or silicon may be slightly less dense. Bronzes are softer and weaker than steel, bronze springs are less stiff (and so store less energy) for the same bulk. It resists corrosion (especially seawater corrosion) and metal fatigue better than steel and also conducts heat and electricity better than most steels. The cost of copper-base alloys is generally higher than that of steels but lower than that of nickel-base alloys such as stainless steel.
Copper and its alloys have a huge variety of uses that reflect their versatile physical, mechanical, and chemical properties. Some common examples are the high electrical conductivity of pure copper, the excellent deep-drawing qualities of cartridge case brass, the low-friction properties of bearing bronze, the resonant qualities of bell bronze, and the resistance to corrosion by sea water of several bronze alloys.
In the twentieth century, silicon was introduced as the primary alloying element, creating an alloy with wide application in industry and the major form used in contemporary statuary. Aluminium is also used for the structural metal aluminium bronze.

Fragment of the grave of Cyprian Kamil Norwid in the Bards' crypt in Wawel Cathedral, Cracow, Poland by sculptor Czesław Dźwigaj
Bronze also has very little metal-on-metal friction, which made it invaluable for the building of cannons where iron cannonballs would otherwise stick in the barrel. It is still widely used today for springs, bearings, bushings, automobile transmission pilot bearings, and similar fittings, and is particularly common in the bearings of small electric motors. Phosphor bronze is particularly suited to precision-grade bearings and springs.
Bronze is typically 88% copper and 12% tin.[5] Alpha bronze consists of the alpha solid solution of tin in copper. Alpha bronze alloys of 4–5% tin are used to make coins, springs, turbines and blades.
Commercial bronze (otherwise known as brass) is 90% copper and 10% zinc, and contains no tin. It is stronger than copper and it has equivalent ductility. It is used for screws and wires.
Another useful property of bronze is that it is non-sparking. That is, when struck against a hard surface, unlike steel, it will not generate sparks. This is used to advantage to make hammers, mallets, wrenches and other durable tools to be used in explosive atmospheres or in the presence of flammable vapours.
Classification of copper and its alloys
| Family | Principal alloying element | UNS numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Copper alloys, Brass | Zinc (Zn) | C1xxxx–C4xxxx,C66400–C69800 |
| Phosphor bronzes | Tin (Sn) | C5xxxx |
| Aluminium bronzes | Aluminium (Al) | C60600–C64200 |
| Silicon bronzes | Silicon (Si) | C64700–C66100 |
| Copper nickel, Nickel silvers | Nickel (Ni) | C7xxxx |
See also
- Aluminum bronze
- Brass, a subset of the copper alloys in which zinc is the principal additive
- Bronze medal
- Bronze sculpture, the use of bronze for artistic representations
- Bronzing, a process by which an object is coated in bronze
- Cupronickel, an alloy used on ships
- Florentine bronze, an alloy which is not standardised (in proportions) worldwide
- Gunmetal, various copper-zinc-tin alloys, some including phosphorus
- lost-wax casting
- Luristan bronze - Bronze Age artifacts recovered from areas of present day Iran
- Phosphor bronze, with properties useful in making corrosion-resistant springs
- Seagram Building, with a record 3.2 million pounds of bronze used in its façade
- Speculum metal, a high-tin bronze
References
External links
- 19th-century bronze sculpture sand casting
- Bronze Casting process explained - good pictures
- Flash animation of lost-wax casting process
- Lost Wax, Found Bronze - a 'virtual' foundry
- Lost wax casting explained
- National Pollutant Inventory - Copper and compounds fact sheet
Copper alloys are alloys with Copper as their principial component. They have high resistance to corrosion.
Due to its high electric conductivity, pure electrolytic copper is used mostly for making of electrical cables.
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Due to its high electric conductivity, pure electrolytic copper is used mostly for making of electrical cables.
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TIN may refer to:
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- Tax identification number
- Triangulated irregular network, a data structure used in a geographic information systems
See also
- Tin
This article is about the metallic chemical element.
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chemical element, or element, is a type of atom that is defined by its atomic number; that is, by the number of protons in its nucleus. The term is also used to refer to a pure chemical substance composed of atoms with the same number of protons.
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5, 4
(mildly acidic oxide)
Electronegativity 2.19 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 1011.8 kJmol−1
2nd: 1907 kJmol−1
3rd: 2914.1 kJmol−1
Atomic radius 100 pm
Atomic radius (calc.
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(mildly acidic oxide)
Electronegativity 2.19 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 1011.8 kJmol−1
2nd: 1907 kJmol−1
3rd: 2914.1 kJmol−1
Atomic radius 100 pm
Atomic radius (calc.
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2, 3
(oxides: acidic, basic or amphoteric
depending on the oxidation state)
Electronegativity 1.55 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 717.3 kJmol−1
2nd: 1509.
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(oxides: acidic, basic or amphoteric
depending on the oxidation state)
Electronegativity 1.55 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 717.3 kJmol−1
2nd: 1509.
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Aluminium (IPA: /ˌæljʊˈmɪniəm/, /ˌæljəˈmɪniəm/) or aluminum (IPA: /əˈluːmɪnəm/
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Silicon (IPA: /ˈsɪlɪkən/ or /ˈsɪlɪˌkɑn/, Latin: silicium
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The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use) consists of techniques for smelting copper and tin from naturally occurring outcroppings of ore, and then alloying those metals in
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fɒːɾˈsiː in Perso-Arabic script (Nasta`liq style):
Pronunciation: [fɒːɾˈsiː]
Spoken in: Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and areas of Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
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Pronunciation: [fɒːɾˈsiː]
Spoken in: Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and areas of Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
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3, 5
(mildly acidic oxide)
Electronegativity 2.18 (scale Pauling)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 947.0 kJmol−1
2nd: 1798 kJmol−1
3rd: 2735 kJmol−1
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(mildly acidic oxide)
Electronegativity 2.18 (scale Pauling)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 947.0 kJmol−1
2nd: 1798 kJmol−1
3rd: 2735 kJmol−1
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Arsenical bronze (or arsenical copper) is an alloy in which arsenic is added to copper as opposed to, or in addition to other constituent metals. The use of arsenic in bronze, either as the secondary constituent or with another component such as tin, results in a stronger
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5th millennium BC - 4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC The 4th millennium BC saw major changes in human culture. It marks the beginning of the Bronze Age and of writing. The city states of Sumer and the kingdom of Egypt are established and grow to prominence.
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Susa (in Persian: شوش Shush) is a city in the Khuzestan province of Iran. It had an estimated population of 64,960 in 2005.[1]
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History
Susa (Biblical Hebrew:..... Click the link for more information.
Mesopotamia was a cradle of civilization geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq. Sumer in southern Mesopotamia is commonly regarded as the world's earliest civilization.
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ore is a volume of rock containing components or minerals in a mode of occurrence that renders it valuable for mining. An ore must contain materials that are
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- valuable
- in concentrations that can be profitably mined, transported, milled, and processed.
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Anthem
Phleng Chat
Royal anthem
Phleng Sansoen Phra Barami
Capital
(and largest city) Bangkok [1]
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Phleng Chat
Royal anthem
Phleng Sansoen Phra Barami
Capital
(and largest city) Bangkok [1]
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Anthem
Sorūd-e Mellī-e Īrān ²
Capital
(and largest city) Tehran
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Sorūd-e Mellī-e Īrān ²
Capital
(and largest city) Tehran
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Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent. The adoption of this material coincided with other changes in some past societies often including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs
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TIN may refer to:
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- Tax identification number
- Triangulated irregular network, a data structure used in a geographic information systems
See also
- Tin
This article is about the metallic chemical element.
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This page is protected from moves until disputes have been resolved on the .
The reason for its protection is listed on the protection policy page. The page may still be edited but cannot be moved until unprotected.
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The reason for its protection is listed on the protection policy page. The page may still be edited but cannot be moved until unprotected.
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Cornwall
Kernow
(Flag)
Motto: Onen hag oll
(Cornish: One and all)
Geography
Status Ceremonial & (smaller) Non-metropolitan county
Region South West England
Area
- Total
- Admin.
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Kernow
(Flag)
Motto: Onen hag oll
(Cornish: One and all)
Geography
Status Ceremonial & (smaller) Non-metropolitan county
Region South West England
Area
- Total
- Admin.
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Wrought iron is commercially pure iron, having a very small carbon content (not more than 0.15 percent), but usually containing some slag. It is tough, malleable and ductile and is easily welded. However, it is too soft for blades.
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Mediterranean is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. It covers an approximate area of 2.
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Overview
The 12th century BC is the period from 1200 to 1101 BC.Events
- 1197 BC — The beginning of first period (1197 BC — 982 BC) by Sau Yung's concept of the I Ching and history.
- 1194 BC — The beginning of the legendary Trojan War.
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The eleventh century BC comprises all years from 1100 BC to 1001 BC .
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Events
- 1089 BC — Melanthus, legendary King of Athens, dies after a reign of 37 years and is succeeded by his son Codrus.
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3, 4, 6
(amphoteric oxide)
Electronegativity 1.83 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 762.5 kJmol−1
2nd: 1561.9 kJmol−1
3rd: 2957 kJmol−1
Atomic radius 140 pm
Atomic radius (calc.
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(amphoteric oxide)
Electronegativity 1.83 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 762.5 kJmol−1
2nd: 1561.9 kJmol−1
3rd: 2957 kJmol−1
Atomic radius 140 pm
Atomic radius (calc.
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Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.02% and 1.7 or 2.04% by weight (C:1000–10,8.67Fe), depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese and
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Patina is a chemical compound formed on the surface of metal. Patinas form on metal from exposure to the elements. They are often deliberately added by artists and metalworkers. Patinas may be used to 'antique' objects, as a part of the design or decoration of art and furniture.
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Redox (shorthand for reduction/oxidation reaction) describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number (oxidation state) changed.
This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide, or the
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This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide, or the
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