Brass
Alloys · Common · Ancient
Brass combines the workability of copper with a golden appearance that has made it the standard material for musical instruments, decorative hardware, and precision components. Its acoustic properties, the resonant warmth of a brass instrument, are unmatched.
Identity
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
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