Brass
Alloys · Common · Ancient
Copper with zinc in it, gold-coloured and cheap, and the easiest of the common metals to machine: it cuts like hard cheese and holds a thread. Instrument makers use it because a brass tube can be drawn thin, bent and brazed without cracking. It throws no spark, so it is also what you make tools from when you are standing in a room full of gas.
Identity
- Source
- Historical alloy: copper and zinc
- Composition
- Copper ~67%, Zinc ~33%
- Also known as
- Yellow brass, Copper-zinc alloy
- Ores, before industry and since
- Azurite (Copper), Chalcocite (Copper), Chalcopyrite (Copper), Copper (Copper), Malachite (Copper), Tetrahedrite (Copper), Hemimorphite (Zinc), Smithsonite (Zinc), Sphalerite (Zinc)
- Ores of the industrial age
- Bornite (Copper), Chrysocolla (Copper), Covellite (Copper), Cuprite (Copper), Enargite (Copper)
Physical Properties
- Appearance
- Bright yellow-gold, warmer and more golden than steel, polishes to a high mirror shine
- Luster
- Metallic
- Density
- 8.5 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 900 °C
- Boiling point
- 1700 °C
- Lighter
- Darksteel
- Denser
- Bronze
- Magnetism
- Non-magnetic
- Electrical conductivity
- High
Mechanical Properties
- Mohs hardness
- 3
- Tensile strength
- 550 MPa
- Softer
- Zinc
- Harder
- Bronze
- Workability
- Easy
- Brittleness
- Tough
- Malleability
- High
- Ductility
- High
Chemical Properties
- Corrosion resistance
- High
- Reactivity
- Low
Lore & Narrative
Romans called brass orichalcum, not the legendary metal but an admiring nickname for its gold-like color. Roman brass coins were called sestertii and were considered more prestigious than the lower-denomination copper asses.
- Notable uses
- Musical instruments, plumbing fixtures, ammunition casings, decorative hardware
- Forge uses
- Musical instruments, Decorative hardware, Plumbing
- Worldbuilding traits
- Golden, Acoustic, Decorative, Common
Sources
- Brass, Wikipedia
Browse the Metal Encyclopedia — MGS Toolbox