Tin is obtained from tinstone, an oxide, which after preliminary roasting in a reverberatory furnace to give a refined tin oxide is reduced to crude tin in a similar furnace. The crude in is further refines to remove various impurities.
In appearance the metal has an almost silver whiteness with a slightly yellowish tinge and its structure is crystalline. Tin is harder than lead and at ordinary temperatures may be beaten and rolled into tin foil. It is ductile but not very strong. Tin melts at 232 centigrade, but at 200 centigrade it is so brittle that it may be hammered into powder. A characteristic of this metal is the crinkling sound made when a bar of it is bent. This is called tin cry and easily heard if a thin bar is held close to the ear and bent. This caused by the crystalline deformation taking place and it is useful method of judging the quality of solder, as solder rich in tin gives a louder cry than when not much tin is present.
The greatest use of tin in its ordinary state is for coating thin steel sheets (tinplates). It is also used for tinning copper wire before the latter is made into cables.
In appearance the metal has an almost silver whiteness with a slightly yellowish tinge and its structure is crystalline. Tin is harder than lead and at ordinary temperatures may be beaten and rolled into tin foil. It is ductile but not very strong. Tin melts at 232 centigrade, but at 200 centigrade it is so brittle that it may be hammered into powder. A characteristic of this metal is the crinkling sound made when a bar of it is bent. This is called tin cry and easily heard if a thin bar is held close to the ear and bent. This caused by the crystalline deformation taking place and it is useful method of judging the quality of solder, as solder rich in tin gives a louder cry than when not much tin is present.
The greatest use of tin in its ordinary state is for coating thin steel sheets (tinplates). It is also used for tinning copper wire before the latter is made into cables.
