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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 |
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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 |
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Britannia metal |
| Alloy of silver and gold (any proportions – usually about 75% gold)
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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 |
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Invar |
| 60% copper, 20% nickel, 20% zinc – a.k.a. German silver – introduced to Britain from Germany around 1830, largely superseding Sheffield plate |
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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% |
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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 |
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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 |
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Sheffield plate |
| First produced in Sheffield by Harry Brearley, 1913; 85–88% steel, 12–15% chromium |
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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 |
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Sterling silver |
| Used in printing: 50–86% lead, 11–30% antimony, 3–20% tin |
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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 |
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Wood's metal |
© Haydn Thompson 2017–23