![]() |
Quiz Monkey |
Science |
Alloys |
A form of bronze, but with nearly twice as much tin (typically 78% copper, 22% tin) – named after the artefacts that are typically made from it |
![]() |
Bell metal |
Created in Sheffield around 1770; often used for electroplating, as a cheaper alternative to nickel silver; 92% tin, 6% antimony, and 2% copper |
![]() |
Britannia metal |
Alloy of silver and gold (any proportions – usually about 75% gold)
![]() |
![]() |
Electrum |
Nickel–iron alloy noted for its extremely low coefficient of expansion; used in precision instruments, clocks etc.; invented in 1896 by Swiss scientist Charles Édouard Guillaume, who received the Nobel Prize for it |
![]() |
Invar |
60% copper, 20% nickel, 20% zinc – a.k.a. German silver – introduced to Britain from Germany around 1830, largely superseding Sheffield plate |
![]() |
Nickel silver |
Typically 94% tin, 1% copper, 5% antimony; sometimes also bismuth and (less commonly today) lead; tin content can vary from 85% to 98% |
![]() |
Pewter |
Type of brass (typically 89–93% copper, 7–11% zinc), used to imitate gold; named after the London clockmaker who invented it in the early 18th century |
![]() |
Pinchbeck |
Layered combinanion of silver and copper, used for many years (see Nickel silver) as a substitue for silver in a wide range of household articles: accidentally invented in 1743 by Thomas Boulsover |
![]() |
Sheffield plate |
First produced in Sheffield by Harry Brearley, 1913; 85–88% steel, 12–15% chromium |
![]() |
Stainless steel |
Term used (since at least the 11th century) for an alloy of silver (92.5%) with some other metal – usually copper – for increased durability |
![]() |
Sterling silver |
Used in printing: 50–86% lead, 11–30% antimony, 3–20% tin |
![]() |
Type metal |
50% bismuth, 26.7% lead, 13.3% tin, 10% cadmium: named after the New York dentist who discovered it in 1860; notable for its low melting point |
![]() |
Wood's metal |
© Haydn Thompson 2017–23