Bronze
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Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon. It was particularly significant in antiquity, giving its name to the Bronze Age. "Bronze" derives from the Italian: Bronzo and, in turn, is perhaps ultimately taken from the Persian word "berenj," meaning "brass".[1]
History
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. Initially bronze was made out of copper and arsenic to form arsenic bronze. It was only later that tin was used, becoming the sole type of bronze in the late 3rd millenium BC. Tin bronze was superior over arsenic bronze in that the alloying process itself could more easily be controlled (as tin was available as a metal) and the alloy was stronger and easier to cast. Also, unlike arsenic, tin is not toxic.
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).
Copper and tin ores are rarely found together (exceptions include one ancient site in Thailand and one in Iran), so serious bronze work has always involved trade. In Europe, the major source for tin was Great Britain's deposits of ore in Cornwall. Phoenician traders visited Great Britain to trade goods from the Mediterranean for tin.[citation needed]
Though bronze is stronger (harder) than wrought iron,[citation needed] the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age; this happened because iron was easier to find. Bronze was still used during the Iron Age, but for many purposes the weaker wrought iron was found to be sufficiently strong. Archaeologists suspect that a serious disruption of the tin trade precipitated the transition. The population migrations around 1200 – 1100 BC reduced the shipping of tin around the Mediterranean (and from Great Britain), limiting supplies and raising prices.[2] As ironworking improved, iron became cheaper, and cultures learned how to make steel, which is stronger than bronze and holds a sharper edge longer.[3]
Properties
Bronze can be superior to iron in many applications. It is considerably less brittle than iron. Bronze only oxidizes superficially; once the surface oxidizes, the thin oxide layer protects the underlying metal from further corrosion. Copper-based alloys have lower melting points than steel or iron, and are more readily produced from their constituent metals. They are generally about 10 percent heavier than steel, although alloys using aluminum or silicon may be slightly less dense. Bronzes are softer and weaker than steel, e.g. bronze springs are less stiff (and so store less energy) for the same bulk. Bronze 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.
Uses
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. Aluminum is also used for the structural metal aluminum bronze.
It is also widely used for cast bronze sculpture. Many common bronze alloys have the unusual and very desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling in the finest details of a mould. Bronze parts are tough and typically used for bearings, clips, electrical connectors and springs.
Bronze also has very little metal-on-metal friction, which made it invaluable for the building of cannon where iron cannonballs would otherwise stick in the barrel.[citation needed] 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. It is also used in guitar and piano strings.
Bronze is typically 88% copper and 12% tin.[4] 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.
Unlike steel, bronze struck against a hard surface will not generate sparks, so it (along with beryllium copper) is used to make hammers, mallets, wrenches and other durable tools to be used in explosive atmospheres or in the presence of flammable vapours.
Bronze Statutes
Indian Hindu artisans from the period of the Chola empire in Tamil Nadu, used bronze to create intricate statutes via the lost wax method with ornate detailing depicting the Gods of Hinduism mostly, but also the lifestyle of the period. The art form survives to this day, with many silpis, craftsmen, working in the areas of Swamimalai and Chennai.
Musical instruments
Bronze is the most popular metal for top-quality bells, and more recently, saxophones. Nearly all professional cymbals are made from bronze. Cymbal bronze is unique in that a balance of durability and timbre is needed.
In 1623, an Armenian man in Turkey named Avedis Zildjian, an alchemist, was attempting to form base metals into gold. Upon dropping an ingot on the ground, he was amazed at how well it rang. He was given the title Zildjian (Son of Cymbal Maker) by the Turkish Sultan. Today, the Avedis Zildjian Corporation is the largest maker of cymbals in the world.[5]
Modern cymbals consist of several types of bronze, the most common being B20 bronze, which is roughly 20% tin, 80% copper, with traces of silver. Zildjian and Sabian use this alloy for their professional lines. A Swiss Company, Paiste, uses a softer B8 bronze which is made from 8% tin and 92% copper in nearly all of their cymbals. (Zildjian and Sabian use this metal too, in their budget priced cymbals).
Generally speaking, as the tin content goes up, the pitch becomes lower.[6] Meinl uses 16% tin 84% copper cymbals, which has a pitch roughly in between B8 and B20.
Bronze is also used for the windings of steel strings of various stringed instruments such as the piano and the guitar.
See also
- List of copper alloys
- Art object
- Bronze medal
- Bronze sculpture
- Bronzing
- Chinese bronze inscriptions
- Lost-wax casting
- Seagram Building
References
- ^ Online Etymological Dictionary http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bronze
- ^ http://www.claytoncramer.com/Iron2.pdf
- ^ rvde002.tmp
- ^ Knapp, Brian. (1996) Copper, Silver and Gold. Reed Library, Australia
- ^ Zildjian.com - en-US
- ^ MEINL CYMBALS... INSPIRE: 4 IS MORE
External links
- "Lost Wax, Found Bronze": lost-wax casting explained
- "Flash animation of the lost-wax casting process". James Peniston Sculpture. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
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