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Tin
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Tin
Tin is a chemical element; it has the symbol Sn (from Latin stannum) and atomic number 50. A metallic-gray metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the so-called "tin cry", as a result of twinning in tin crystals.
Tin is a post-transition metal in group 14 of the periodic table of elements. It is obtained chiefly from the mineral cassiterite, which contains stannic oxide, SnO
2. Tin shows a chemical similarity to both of its neighbors in group 14, germanium and lead, and has two main oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4. Tin is the 49th most abundant element on Earth, making up 0.00022% of its crust, and with 10 stable isotopes, it has the largest number of stable isotopes in the periodic table, due to its magic number of protons.
It has two main allotropes: at room temperature, the stable allotrope is β-tin, a silvery-white, malleable metal; at low temperatures it is less dense grey α-tin, which has the diamond cubic structure. Metallic tin does not easily oxidize in air and water.
The first tin alloy used on a large scale was bronze, made of 1⁄8 tin and 7⁄8 copper (12.5% and 87.5% respectively), from as early as 3000 BC. After 600 BC, pure metallic tin was produced. Pewter, which is an alloy of 85–90% tin with the remainder commonly consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth, and sometimes lead and silver, has been used for flatware since the Bronze Age. In modern times, tin is used in many alloys, most notably tin-lead soft solders, which are typically 60% or more tin, and in the manufacture of transparent, electrically conducting films of indium tin oxide in optoelectronic applications. Another large application is corrosion-resistant tin plating of steel. Because of the low toxicity of inorganic tin, tin-plated steel is widely used for food packaging as "tin cans". Some organotin compounds can be extremely toxic.
Tin is a soft, malleable, ductile and highly crystalline silvery-white metal. When a bar of tin is bent a crackling sound known as the "tin cry" can be heard from the twinning of the crystals. This trait is shared by indium, cadmium, zinc, and mercury in its solid state. Tin melts at about 232 °C (450 °F), the lowest in group 14, and boils at 2,602 °C (4,716 °F), the second lowest (ahead of lead) in its group. The melting point is further lowered to 177.3 °C (351.1 °F) for 11 nm particles.
β-tin, also called white tin, is the allotrope (structural form) of elemental tin that is stable at and above room temperature. It is metallic and malleable, and has body-centered tetragonal crystal structure. α-tin, or gray tin, is the nonmetallic form. It is stable below 13.2 °C (55.8 °F) and is brittle. α-tin has a diamond cubic crystal structure, as do diamond and silicon. α-tin does not have metallic properties because its atoms form a covalent structure in which electrons cannot move freely. α-tin is a dull-gray powdery material with no common uses other than specialized semiconductor applications. γ-tin and σ-tin exist at temperatures above 161 °C (322 °F) and pressures above several GPa.
In cold conditions β-tin tends to transform spontaneously into α-tin, a phenomenon known as "tin pest" or "tin disease". Some unverifiable sources also say that, during Napoleon's Russian campaign of 1812, the temperatures became so cold that the tin buttons on the soldiers' uniforms disintegrated over time, contributing to the defeat of the Grande Armée, a persistent legend.
The α-β transformation temperature is 13.2 °C (55.8 °F), but impurities (e.g. Al, Zn, etc.) lower it well below 0 °C (32 °F). With the addition of antimony or bismuth the transformation might not occur at all, increasing durability.
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Tin
Tin is a chemical element; it has the symbol Sn (from Latin stannum) and atomic number 50. A metallic-gray metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the so-called "tin cry", as a result of twinning in tin crystals.
Tin is a post-transition metal in group 14 of the periodic table of elements. It is obtained chiefly from the mineral cassiterite, which contains stannic oxide, SnO
2. Tin shows a chemical similarity to both of its neighbors in group 14, germanium and lead, and has two main oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4. Tin is the 49th most abundant element on Earth, making up 0.00022% of its crust, and with 10 stable isotopes, it has the largest number of stable isotopes in the periodic table, due to its magic number of protons.
It has two main allotropes: at room temperature, the stable allotrope is β-tin, a silvery-white, malleable metal; at low temperatures it is less dense grey α-tin, which has the diamond cubic structure. Metallic tin does not easily oxidize in air and water.
The first tin alloy used on a large scale was bronze, made of 1⁄8 tin and 7⁄8 copper (12.5% and 87.5% respectively), from as early as 3000 BC. After 600 BC, pure metallic tin was produced. Pewter, which is an alloy of 85–90% tin with the remainder commonly consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth, and sometimes lead and silver, has been used for flatware since the Bronze Age. In modern times, tin is used in many alloys, most notably tin-lead soft solders, which are typically 60% or more tin, and in the manufacture of transparent, electrically conducting films of indium tin oxide in optoelectronic applications. Another large application is corrosion-resistant tin plating of steel. Because of the low toxicity of inorganic tin, tin-plated steel is widely used for food packaging as "tin cans". Some organotin compounds can be extremely toxic.
Tin is a soft, malleable, ductile and highly crystalline silvery-white metal. When a bar of tin is bent a crackling sound known as the "tin cry" can be heard from the twinning of the crystals. This trait is shared by indium, cadmium, zinc, and mercury in its solid state. Tin melts at about 232 °C (450 °F), the lowest in group 14, and boils at 2,602 °C (4,716 °F), the second lowest (ahead of lead) in its group. The melting point is further lowered to 177.3 °C (351.1 °F) for 11 nm particles.
β-tin, also called white tin, is the allotrope (structural form) of elemental tin that is stable at and above room temperature. It is metallic and malleable, and has body-centered tetragonal crystal structure. α-tin, or gray tin, is the nonmetallic form. It is stable below 13.2 °C (55.8 °F) and is brittle. α-tin has a diamond cubic crystal structure, as do diamond and silicon. α-tin does not have metallic properties because its atoms form a covalent structure in which electrons cannot move freely. α-tin is a dull-gray powdery material with no common uses other than specialized semiconductor applications. γ-tin and σ-tin exist at temperatures above 161 °C (322 °F) and pressures above several GPa.
In cold conditions β-tin tends to transform spontaneously into α-tin, a phenomenon known as "tin pest" or "tin disease". Some unverifiable sources also say that, during Napoleon's Russian campaign of 1812, the temperatures became so cold that the tin buttons on the soldiers' uniforms disintegrated over time, contributing to the defeat of the Grande Armée, a persistent legend.
The α-β transformation temperature is 13.2 °C (55.8 °F), but impurities (e.g. Al, Zn, etc.) lower it well below 0 °C (32 °F). With the addition of antimony or bismuth the transformation might not occur at all, increasing durability.
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