Alloy
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An alloy is an uniform mixture. It is composed of two or more chemical elements, of which at least one of is a metal. An alloy has properties different from its constituent metals. Technically, an alloy is defined as a combination of two or more metals (in a solid solution or as an intermetallic phase) as is supported by definitive accounts in the Oxford dictionaries.
Most alloys are made by: 1) Melting the metals 2) Mixing them while they are in liquid state to form a solution 3) Leaving them to cool and go back to solid state
There are some common alloys:
- Brass which is made of 35% Zinc and 65% Copper and is used for musical instruments, jewelry, faucets and decorative hardware.
- Stainless steel which is made of 18% Tin, 80.6% Iron, 1% Nickel and 0.4% Carbon and is used for tableware, cookware and surgical instruments.
- Carbon steel which is made of 99% Iron and 1% Carbon and is used for tools, car bodies, machinery, girders and rails.
- Bronze which is made of 87.5% Copper and 12.5% Tin and is used for boat hardware, screws and grill work
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