Bronze

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper and other metals. The

addition of other metals (usually tin, sometimes arsenic), produces an alloy
much harder than plain copper. The historical period where the
archeological record contains many bronze artifacts is known as the Bronze
Age.
Because historical pieces were often made of brasses (copper and zinc) and
bronzes with different compositions, modern museum and scholarly
descriptions of older objects increasingly use the more inclusive term
"copper alloy" instead.[1]
The word bronze (173040) is borrowed from French bronze (1511), itself
borrowed from Italian bronzo "bell metal, brass" (13th century)
(transcribed in Medieval Latin as bronzium), from either:
brntion, back-formation from Byzantine Greek brontson (11th

Yoruba bronze head

sculpture, Ife, Nigeria c. 12th
century AD

century), perhaps from Brentsion Brindisi, reputed for its

bronze;[2][3] or
early Persian birinj, biranj (" )brass" (modern berenj),
piring (" )copper",[4] from which also came SerboCroatian prina "brass",[5] Georgian brinao "bronze",
Armenian pinj "copper".

Contents
1 History
2 Composition
3 Properties
4 Uses
4.1 Bronze statues
4.2 Musical instruments
4.3 Medals
4.4 Industrial
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Bronze deer figurine dating from

between the 9th and 6th centuries
BC, National Archaeological Museum
of Sofia

History
The discovery of bronze enabled people to create metal objects which
were harder and more durable than previously possible. Bronze tools,
weapons, armor, and building materials such as decorative tiles were
harder and more durable than their stone and copper ("Chalcolithic")
predecessors. Initially, bronze was made out of copper and arsenic,
forming arsenic bronze, or from naturally or artificially mixed ores of
copper and arsenic. It was only later that tin was used, becoming the
major non-copper ingredient of bronze in the late 3rd millennium
BC.[6] Tin bronze was superior to arsenic bronze in that the alloying
process could be more easily controlled, and the resulting alloy was
stronger and easier to cast. Also, unlike arsenic, tin is not toxic.

Chinese Ding, Western Zhou

(1046771 BC)

The earliest tin-alloy bronze dates to 4500 BCE in a Vina culture site in Plonik (Serbia).[7] Other early
examples date to the late 4th millennium BC in Africa,[8] Susa (Iran) and some ancient sites in China,
Luristan (Iran) and Mesopotamia (Iraq).
Ores of copper and the far rarer tin are not often found together (exceptions include one ancient site in
Thailand and one in Iran), so serious bronze work has always involved trade. Tin sources and trade in
ancient times had a major influence on the development of cultures. In Europe, a major source of tin was
England's deposits of ore in Cornwall, which were traded as far as Phoenicia in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Though bronze is generally harder than wrought iron, with Vickers hardness of 60258[9] vs. 3080,[10] the
Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age because iron was easier to find and easier to process into a usable
grade of metal (it can be made into higher grades, but doing so takes significantly more effort and skill).
Pure iron is soft, and the process of beating and folding sponge iron to make wrought iron removes from
the metal carbon and other impurities which need to be re-introduced to improve hardness. Careful
control of the alloying and tempering eventually allowed for wrought iron with properties comparable to
modern steel.
Bronze was still used during the Iron Age. 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 12001100 BC reduced the shipping of tin around the
Mediterranean (and from Great Britain), limiting supplies and raising prices.[11]
As the art of working in iron improved, iron became cheaper, and as cultures advanced from wrought iron
(typically forged by hand wrought by blacksmiths) to machine forged iron (typically made with trip
hammers powered by water), the blacksmiths learned how to make steel, which is stronger than bronze
and holds a sharper edge longer.[12]

Composition

There are many different bronze

alloys, but typically modern bronze
is 88% copper and 12% tin.[13] Alpha
bronze consists of the alpha solid
solution of tin in copper. Alpha
bronze alloys of 45% tin are used
to make coins, springs, turbines and
blades. Historical "bronzes" are
Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng,
highly variable in composition, as
Spring and Autumn Period (476221
most metalworkers probably used
BC)
whatever scrap was on hand; the
metal of the 12th-century English
Gloucester Candlestick is bronze containing a mixture of copper, zinc, tin,
lead, nickel, iron, antimony, arsenic with an unusually large amount of
silver between 22.5% in the base and 5.76% in the pan below the candle.
The proportions of this mixture may suggest that the candlestick was made
from a hoard of old coins. The Benin Bronzes are really brass, and the
Romanesque Baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Lige is described
as both bronze and brass.

A Bronze flag found in

Shahdad, Kerman, (now
Iran), 3rd millennium BC

In the Bronze Age, two forms of bronze were commonly used: "classic bronze", about 10% tin, was used in
casting; and "mild bronze", about 6% tin, was hammered from ingots to make sheets. Bladed weapons
were mostly cast from classic bronze, while helmets and armor were hammered from mild bronze.
Commercial bronze (90% copper and 10% zinc) and architectural bronze (57% copper, 3% lead, 40% zinc)
are more properly regarded as brass alloys because they contain zinc as the main alloying ingredient. They
are commonly used in architectural applications.[14][15]
Bismuth bronze is a bronze alloy with a composition of 52% copper, 30% nickel, 12% zinc, 5% lead, and 1%
bismuth. It is able to hold a good polish and so is sometimes used in light reflectors and mirrors.[16]
Plastic bronze is bronze containing a significant quantity of lead which makes for improved plasticity[17]
possibly used by the ancient Greeks in their ship construction.[18]
Other bronze alloys include aluminium bronze, phosphor bronze, manganese bronze, bell metal, arsenical
bronze, speculum metal and cymbal alloys.

Properties
Typically bronze only oxidizes superficially; once a copper oxide (eventually becoming copper carbonate)
layer is formed, the underlying metal is protected from further corrosion. However, if copper chlorides are
formed, a corrosion-mode called "bronze disease" will eventually completely destroy it.[19] 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 denser than steel, although alloys using aluminium or silicon
may be slightly less dense. Bronzes are softer and weaker than steelbronze springs, for example, are less

stiff (and so store less energy) for the same bulk. Bronze resists corrosion (especially seawater corrosion)
and metal fatigue more than steel and is a better conductor of heat and electricity than most steels. The
cost of copper-base alloys is generally higher than that of steels but lower than that of nickel-base alloys.
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 lowfriction properties of bearing bronze (bronze which has a high lead content 6-8%), the resonant qualities
of bell bronze (20% tin, 80% copper), and the resistance to
corrosion by sea water of several bronze alloys.
The melting point of bronze varies depending on the ratio of the
alloy components and is about 950 C (1,742 F). Bronze may be
nonmagnetic, but certain alloys containing iron or nickel may
have magnetic properties.

Uses
Bronze bell with a visible crystallite
Bronze was especially suitable for use in boat and ship fittings
structure.
prior to the wide employment of stainless steel owing to its
combination of toughness and resistance to salt water
corrosion. Bronze is still commonly used in ship propellers and submerged
bearings.

In the 20th 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. Sculptors may prefer silicon bronze because of
the ready availability of silicon bronze brazing rod, which allows colormatched repair of defects in castings. Aluminium is also used for the
structural metal aluminium 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 mold. Bronze parts
are tough and typically used for bearings, clips, electrical connectors and
springs.
Bronze also has very low metal-on-metal friction, making it invaluable for
the building of cannon where iron cannonballs would otherwise stick in the
barrel.[20] 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.

Ewer from 7th-century Iran.

Cast, chased, and inlaid
bronze. New York
Metropolitan Museum of
Art

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 vapors.

Bronze is used to make bronze wool for woodworking applications where steel wool would discolor oak.

Bronze statues
In India, bronze sculptures from the Kushana (Chausa hoard) and
Gupta periods (Brahma from Mirpur-Khas, Akota Hoard, Sultanganj
Buddha) and later periods (Hansi Hoard) have been found.[21]
Indian Hindu artisans from the period of the Chola empire in Tamil
Nadu used bronze to create intricate statues via the lost wax
casting method with ornate detailing depicting the deities 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.
The Assyrian king Sennacherib (704681 BC) claims to have been
the first to cast monumental bronze statues (of up to 30 tonnes)
using two-part moulds instead of the lost-wax method.[22]

An ormolu bronze Empire style

chariot clock. France, c. 1810.

In antiquity other cultures also produced works of high art using bronze.
For example: in Africa, the bronze heads of the Kingdom of Benin; in
Europe, Grecian bronzes typically of figures from Greek mythology; in east
Asia, Chinese bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynastymore often
ceremonial vessels but including some figurine examples. Bronze
sculptures, although known for their longevity, still undergo microbial
degradation; such as from certain species of yeasts.[23]
Bronze continues into modern times as one of the materials of choice for
monumental statuary.

Musical instruments
Bronze is the preferred metal for top-quality bells, particularly bell metal,
which is about 23% tin.

Tirthankara from 7thcentury Akota Hoard

Nearly all professional cymbals are made from bronze, which gives
a desirable balance of durability and timbre. Several types of
bronze are used, commonly B20 bronze, which is roughly 20% tin,
80% copper, with traces of silver, or the tougher B8 bronze which is
made from 8% tin and 92% copper. As the tin content in a bell or
cymbal rises, the timbre drops.[24]
Bronze is also used for the windings of steel and nylon strings of
various stringed instruments such as the double bass, piano,
harpsichord, and the guitar. Bronze strings are commonly reserved
on pianoforte for the lower pitch tones, as they possess a superior
sustain quality to that of high-tensile steel.[25]

Bronze sculptures from Benin

Bronzes of various metallurgical properties are widely used in struck idiophones around the world, notably
bells, singing bowls, gongs, cymbals and other idiophones from
Asia. Examples include Tibetan singing bowls, temple bells of many
sizes and shapes, gongs, Javanese gamelan and other bronze
musical instruments. The earliest bronze archeological finds in
Indonesia date from 12 BCE, including flat plates probably
suspended and struck by a wooden or bone mallet.[25][26] Ancient
bronze drums from Thailand and Vietnam date back 2,000 years.
Bronze bells from Thailand and Cambodia date back to 3,600 BCE.
Some companies are now making saxophones from phosphor
bronze (3.5 to 10% tin and up to 1% phosphorus content).[27] Bell

bronze is used to make the tone rings of many professional model

banjos. The tone ring is a heavy (usually 3 lbs.) folded or arched
metal ring attached to a thick wood rim, over which a skin, or most
often, a plastic membrane (or head) is stretched - it is the bell
bronze that gives the banjo a crisp powerful lower register and
clear, bell-like treble register-especially in bluegrass music.

Antique bell metal bronze singing

bowls from the 16th to 18th
centuries. Annealed bronze
continues to be made in the
Himalayas.

Medals
Bronze has been used in the manufacture of various types of medals for centuries, and are known in
contemporary times for being awarded for third place in sporting competitions and other events. The later
usage was in part attributed to the choices of gold, silver and bronze to represent the first three Ages of
Man in Greek mythology: the Golden Age, when men lived among the gods; the Silver age, where youth
lasted a hundred years; and the Bronze Age, the era of heroes, and was first adopted at the 1904 Summer
Olympics. At the 1896 event, silver was awarded to winners and bronze to runners-up, while at 1900 other
prizes were given, not medals.

Industrial
Various kinds of bronze are used in many different industrial applications.
Phosphor bronze is used for ships' propellers, musical instruments, and electrical contacts.[28] Bearings are
often made of bronze for its friction properties. It can be filled with oil to make the proprietary Oilite and
similar material for bearings. Aluminium bronze is very hard and is used for bearings and machine tool
ways.[29]

See also
Art object
Bronze and brass ornamental work
Bronzing
Chinese bronze inscriptions

Dezincification Resistant Brass

French Empire mantel clock
List of copper alloys
Ormolu
Seagram Building
UNS C69100
Yoruba art

References
1. ^ "British Museum, "Scope Note" for "copper alloy" "
(http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/
term_details.aspx?scopeType=Terms&scopeId=18864). British Museum.
Retrieved 14 September 2014.
2. ^ Henry and Rene Kahane, "Byzantium's Impact on the West: The Linguistic
Evidence", Illinois Classical Studies 06 (2) 1981, p. 395.
3. ^ Originally M.P.E. Berthelot, "Sur le nom du bronze chez les alchimistes
grecs", in Revue archologique, 1888, pp. 294-8.
4. ^ Originally Karl Lokotsch, Etymologisches Wrterbuch der europischen
Wrter orientalischen Ursprungs. (Heidelberg: Carl Winters
Universittsbuchhandlung, 1927), p. 1657.
5. ^ Wolfgang Pfeifer, ed., Etymologisches Wrterbuch des Deutschen, s.v.
"Bronze" (Munich: Deutscher Taschenbucher Vertrag, 2005).
6. ^ Brett Kaufman, "Metallurgy and Archaeological Change in the Ancient Near
East", Backdirt: Annual Review 2011, p. 86.
7. ^ Radivojevi, Miljana; Rehren, Thilo (December 2013). "Tainted ores and
the rise of tin bronzes in Eurasia, c. 6500 years ago"
(http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/087/ant0871030.htm). Antiquity Publications
Ltd.
8. ^ History of Africa#Metallurgy
9. ^ Precious Metals: Bronze Jewelry
(http://www.allaboutgemstones.com/metal_jewelry_bronze.html).
Allaboutgemstones.com. Retrieved on 2012-06-09.
10. ^ Smithells Metals Reference Book, 8th Edition, ch. 22
11. ^ Clayton E. Cramer. What Caused The Iron Age?
(http://www.claytoncramer.com/unpublished/Iron2.pdf)
claytoncramer.com. December 10, 1995
12. ^ Oleg D. Sherby and Jeffrey Wadsworth. Ancient Blacksmiths, the Iron Age,
Damascus Steels, and Modern Metallurgy
(http://www.llnl.gov/tid/lof/documents/pdf/238547.pdf). Tbermec 2000,
Las Vegas, Nevada December 48, 2000. Retrieved on 2012-06-09.

Fragment of the grave of

Cyprian Kamil Norwid in the
Bards' crypt in Wawel
Cathedral, Krakw, Poland
by sculptor Czesaw Dwigaj

Las Vegas, Nevada December 48, 2000. Retrieved on 2012-06-09.

13. ^ Knapp, Brian. (1996) Copper, Silver and Gold. Reed Library, Australia.
14. ^ "Copper alloys"
(http://www.copper.org/applications/architecture/arch_dhb/copper_alloys/
intro.html). Retrieved 14 September 2014.
15. ^ "CDA UNS Standard Designations for Wrought and Cast Copper and Copper
Alloys: Introduction"
(http://www.copper.org/resources/properties/standarddesignations/introduction.html). Retrieved 14 September 2014.
16. ^ "Bismuth Bronze"
(http://www.southerncrossmetalrecyclers.com.au/scrap/bismuthbronze.html). Retrieved 14 September 2014.
17. ^ plastic bronze definition of plastic bronze in the Free Online Encyclopedia
(http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/plastic+bronze)
18. ^ The Belgammel Ram, a Hellenistic-Roman Bronze Proembolion Found off
the Coast of Libya: test analysis of function, date and metallurgy, with a
digital reference archive (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/10959270.12001/full)
19. ^ "Bronze Disease, Archaeologies of the Greek Past"
(http://proteus.brown.edu/greekpast/4867). Retrieved 14 September 2014.
20. ^ A. Alavudeen; N. Venkateshwaran; J. T. Winowlin Jappes (1 January 2006).
A Textbook of Engineering Materials and Metallurgy
(http://books.google.com/books?id=WB5RBUQW3rcC&pg=PA136). Firewall
Media. pp. 136. ISBN 978-81-7008-957-5. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
21. ^ Indian bronze masterpieces: the great tradition : specially published for the
Festival of India, Asharani Mathur, Sonya Singh, Festival of India, Brijbasi
Printers, Dec 1, 1988
22. ^ for a translation of his inscription see the appendix in Stephanie Dalley,
(2013) The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon: an elusive World
Wonder traced, OUP. ISBN 978-0-19-966226-5
23. ^ Francesca Cappitelli; Claudia Sorlini (2008). "Microorganisms Attack
Synthetic Polymers in Items Representing Our Cultural Heritage"
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2227722). Applied
Environmental Microbiology 74 (3): 5649. doi:10.1128/AEM.01768-07
(https://dx.doi.org/10.1128%2FAEM.01768-07). PMC 2227722
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2227722). PMID 18065627
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18065627).
24. ^ Von Falkenhausen, Lothar (1993). Suspended Music: Chime-Bells in the
Culture of Bronze Age China (http://books.google.com/books?
id=ve1h53NTNW0C&pg=PA106&lpg=PA106). Berkeley and Los Angeles:
University of California Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-520-07378-4.
25. ^ a b McCreight, Tim. Metals technic: a collection of techniques for
metalsmiths. Brynmorgen Press, 1992. ISBN 0-9615984-3-3

metalsmiths. Brynmorgen Press, 1992. ISBN 0-9615984-3-3

26. ^ LaPlantz, David. Jewelry Metalwork 1991 Survey: Visions Concepts
Communication: S. LaPlantz: 1991. ISBN 0-942002-05-9
27. ^ "www.sax.co.uk" (http://www.sax.co.uk/signature-custom-alto-saxphosphor-bronze-big-bell.ir). Retrieved 18 September 2014.
28. ^ Resources: Standards & Properties - Copper & Copper Alloy
Microstructures: Phosphor Bronze
(http://www.copper.org/resources/properties/microstructure/phos_bronze.
html)
29. ^ Resources: Standards & Properties - Copper & Copper Alloy
Microstructures: Aluminum Bronzes
(http://www.copper.org/resources/properties/microstructure/al_bronzes.ht
ml)

External links
Media related to Bronze at Wikimedia Commons
Bronze bells (http://www.msm.cam.ac.uk/phasetrans/2005/bell/bell.html)
"Lost Wax, Found Bronze": lost-wax casting explained
(http://wildlifeart.org/Foundry/index2.html)
"Flash animation of the lost-wax casting process"

Look up bronze in
Wiktionary, the free
dictionary.
Wikisource has the text of
the 1911 Encyclopdia
Britannica article Bronze.

(http://www.jepsculpture.com/bronze.shtml). James Peniston Sculpture. Retrieved 2008-11-03.

Viking Bronze Ancient and Early Medieval bronze casting (http://web.comhem.se/vikingbronze/)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bronze&oldid=643132964"
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