(SymbolSn) A malleable, silvery metallic element obtained chiefly from cassiterite. It is used to coat other metals to prevent corrosion and is a part of numerous alloys, such as soft solder, pewter, type metal, and bronze. Atomic number 50; atomic weight 118.71; melting point 231.89°C; boiling point 2,270°C; specific gravity 7.31; valence 2, 4.
Tin plate.
A container or box made of tin plate.
Chiefly British.
A container for preserved foodstuffs; a can.
The contents of such a container.
tr.v., tinned, tin·ning, tins.
To plate or coat with tin.
Chiefly British. To preserve or pack in tins; can.
adj.
Of, relating to, or made of tin.
Constructed of inferior material.
Spurious.
[Middle English, from Old English.]
WORD HISTORY The origins of the word tin may date to a time before Europe had been settled by speakers of Indo-European languages, such as the Germanic and Celtic languages. Related words for this metal are found in almost all Germanic languages, such as German Zinn, Swedish tenn, and Old English tin (as in Modern English), but no other Indo-European language family has such a word. This fact suggests that the word tin may have been borrowed into the Germanic languages from a pre-Indo-European language of Western Europe. This possibility is supported by the Bronze Age importation to the Near East of tin and copper from Europe, where the metals were produced and metal objects were manufactured. Lest we be too amazed by this accomplishment, we might remember another remarkable achievement of pre-Indo-European society, the construction of huge megalithic monuments such as Stonehenge.
In the 1800s, tin was an ordinary household material particularly popular with the working class because of its low cost and bright luster. Made of iron or steel rolled thin and dipped in molten tin, it was easy to manipulate, cut, and solder. Tin was used for nearly everything that copper, pewter, brass, or silver could be used for, but generally did not last as long. Reviewing tin catalogs from about 1870 reveals that tin was used for far more than cookie cutters—it was used to make children's toys, coffeepots, lunch boxes, and even gentlemen's spitoonsl
However, it was also popularly used to produce a gift for the tenth anniversary, called the "tin anniversary." While not as well-known as the twenty-fifth, which requires silver gifts, the Victorian housewife knew she might well receive a tenth anniversary gift of tin like the tin bonnet depicted here. Shaped in the form of a "spoon bonnet" popular about 1870, it is likely that this piece dates to that time. Certainly, it can't be worn, but was meant to be displayed on a shelf as a remembrance of that anniversary. Tinsmiths provided whimsical gifts just for this purpose. Museum collections include not only hats but tin shoes and decorative vases that could never be used to hold water.
NancyEV Bryk
Background
Tin is one of the basic chemical elements. When refined, it is a silvery-white metal known for its resistance to corrosion and its ability to coat other metals. It is most commonly used as a plating on the steel sheets used to form cans for food containers. Tin is also combined with copper to form bronze and with lead to form solder. A tin compound, stannous fluoride, is often added to toothpaste as a source of fluoride to prevent tooth decay.
The earliest use of tin dates to about 3500 B.C. in what is now Turkey, where it was first mined and processed. Ancient metalworkers learned to combine relatively soft copper with tin to form a much harder bronze, which could be made into tools and weapons that were more durable and stayed sharp longer. This discovery started what is known as the Bronze Age, which lasted about 2,000 years. The superiority of bronze tools spurred the search for other sources of tin. When extensive tin deposits were found in England, traders brought the precious metal to countries in the Mediterranean area, but kept the source a secret. It wasn't until 310 B.C. that the Greek explorer Pytheas discovered the location of the mines near what is now Cornwall, England. Much of the impetus for the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 A.D. was to control the tin trade. The chemical symbol for tin, Sn, is derived from the Latin name for the material, stannum.
Elsewhere in the world, tin was used in ancient China and among an unknown tribe in what is now South Africa. By about 2500-2000 B.C., metalworkers on the Khorat Plateau of northeast Thailand used local sources of tin and copper to produce bronze, and by about 1600 B.C. bronze plows were being used in what is now Vietnam. Tin was also known and used in Mexico and Peru before the Spanish conquest in the 1500s.
The use of tin as a plating material dates to the time of the Roman Empire, when copper vessels were coated with tin to keep them bright looking. Tinned iron vessels appeared in central Europe, in the 1300s. Thin sheets of iron coated with tin, called tinplate, became available in England during the mid-1600s and were used to make metal containers. In 1810, Pierre Durand of France patented a method of preserving food in sealed tinplate cans. Although it took many years of experimenting to perfect this new technique, tin cans began replacing bottles for food packaging by the mid-1800s.
In 1839, Isaac Babbitt of the United States invented an antifriction alloy, called Babbitt metal, which consisted of tin, antimony, and copper. It was widely used in bearings and greatly assisted the development of high-speed machinery and transportation.
In 1952, the firm of Pilkington in England revolutionized the glassmaking industry with the introduction of the "float glass" method for the continuous production of sheet glass. In this method, the molten glass floats on a bath of liquid, molten tin as it cools. This produces a very flat glass surface without the rolling, grinding, and polishing operations that were required prior to the introduction of this method.
Today, most of the world's tin is produced in Malaysia, Bolivia, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Nigeria, and England. There are no major tin deposits in the United States.
Raw Materials
There are nine tin-bearing ores found naturally in the earth's crust, but the only one that is mined to any extent is cassiterite. In addition to the ores themselves, several other materials are often used to process and refine tin. These include limestone, silica, and salt. Carbon, in the form of coal or fuel oil, is also used. The presence of high concentrations of certain chemicals in the ore may require the use of other materials.
The Manufacturing Process
The process of extracting tin from tin ore varies according to the source of the ore deposit and the amount of impurities found in the ore. The tin deposits in Bolivia and England are located deep underground and require the use of tunnels to reach the ore. The ore in these deposits may contain about 0.8-1.0% tin by weight. Tin deposits in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand are located in the gravel along streambeds and require the use of dredges or pumps to reach the ore. The ore in these deposits may contain as little as 0.015% tin by weight. Over 80% of the world's tin is found in these low-grade gravel deposits.
Regardless of the source, each process consists of several steps in which the unwanted materials are physically or chemically removed, and the concentration of tin is progressively increased. Some of these steps are conducted at the mine site, while others may be conducted at separate facilities.
Here are the steps used to process the low-grade ore typically found in gravel deposits in Southeast Asia:
Mining
When the gravel deposits are located at or below the water level in the stream, they are brought up by a floating dredge, operating in an artificial pond created along the streambed. The dredge excavates the gravel using a long boom fitted either with chain-driven buckets or with a submersed rotating cutter head and suction pipe. The gravel passes through a series of revolving screens and shaker tables onboard the dredge to separate the soil, sand, and stones from the tin ore. The remaining ore is then collected and transferred ashore for further processing.
When the gravel deposits are located in dry areas at or above the water level in the stream, they are first broken up with jets of water pumped through large nozzles. The resulting muddy slurry is trapped in an artificial pond. A pump located at the lowest point in the pond pumps the slurry up into a wooden trough, called a palong, which has a gentle downward slope along its length. The tin ore, which is heavier than the sand and soil in the mud, tends to sink and is trapped behind a series of wooden slats, called riffles. Periodically the trapped ore is dumped from the palong and is collected for further processing.
Concentrating
The ore enters the cleaning or dressing shed adjacent to the mining operation. First, it passes through several vibrating screens to separate out coarser foreign materials. It may then pass through a classifying tank filled with water, where the ore sinks to the bottom while the very small silt particles are carried away. It may also pass through a floatation tank, where certain chemicals are added to make the tin particles rise to the surface and overflow into troughs.
Finally the ore is dried, screened again, and passed through a magnetic separator to remove any iron particles. The resulting tin concentrate is now about 70-77% tin by weight and consists of almost pure cassiterite.
Smelting
The tin concentrate is placed in a furnace along with carbon in the form of either coal or fuel oil. If a tin concentrate with excess impurities is used, limestone and sand may also be added to react with the impurities. As the materials are heated to about 2550° F (1400° C), the carbon reacts with the carbon dioxide in the furnace atmosphere to form carbon monoxide. In turn the carbon monoxide reacts with the cassiterite in the tin concentrate to form crude tin and carbon dioxide. If limestone and sand are used, they react with any silica or iron present in the concentrate to form a slag.
Because tin readily forms compounds with many materials, it often reacts with the slag. As a result, the slag from the first furnace contains an appreciable amount of tin and must be processed further before it is discarded. The slag is heated in a second furnace along with additional carbon, scrap iron, and limestone. As before, crude tin is formed and recovered along with a certain amount of residual slag.
The residual slag from the second furnace is heated one more time to recover any tin that has formed compounds with iron. This material is known as the hard head. The remaining slag is discarded.
Refining
The crude tin from the first furnace is placed in a low-temperature furnace along with the crude tin recovered from the slag plus the hard head. Because tin has a melting temperature much lower than most metals, it is possible to carefully raise the temperature of the furnace so that only the tin melts, leaving any other metals as solids. The melted tin runs down an inclined surface and is collected in a poling kettle, while the other materials remain behind. This process is called liquidation and it effectively removes much of the iron, arsenic, copper, and antimony that may be present.
The molten tin in the poling kettle is agitated with steam, compressed air, or poles of green wood. This process is called boiling. The green wood, being moist, produces steam along with the mechanical stirring of the poles. It was from this crude, but effective use of wood poles that the poling kettle got its name. Most of the remaining impurities rise to the surface to form a scum, which is removed. The refined tin is now about 99.8% pure.
For applications requiring an even higher purity, the tin may be processed further in an electrolytic refining plant. The tin is poured into molds to form large electrical anodes, which act as the positive terminals for the electrorefining process. Each anode is placed in an individual tank, and a sheet of tin is placed at the opposite end of the tank to act as the cathode, or negative terminal. The tanks are filled with an electrically conducting solution. When an electrical current is passed through each tank, the tin is stripped off the anode and is deposited on the cathode. The remaining impurities, which are generally bismuth and lead, fall out of the solution and form a slime at the bottom of the tank.
The cathodes are remelted, and the refined tin is cast in iron molds to form ingots or bars, which are then shipped to the various end users. Lower purity tin is usually cast into ingots weighing 25-100 lb (11-45 kg). Higher purity tin is cast into smaller bars weighing about 2 lb (1 kg).
Quality Control
The processes described have been proven to consistently produce tin at 99% purity and higher. To ensure this purity, samples are analyzed at various steps to determine whether any adjustments to the processes are required.
In the United States, the purity levels for commercial grades of tin are defined by the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) Standard Classification B339. The highest grade is AAA, which contains 99.98% tin and is used for research. Grade A, which contains 99.80% tin, is used to form tinplate for food containers. Grades B, C, D, and E are lesser grades ranging down to 99% purity. They are used to make general-purpose tin alloys such as bronze and solder.
Byproducts/Waste
There are no useful byproducts produced from tin processing.
Waste products include the soil, sand, and stones that are rejected during the mining and concentrating operations. These constitute a huge amount of material, but their environmental impact depends on the local disposal practices and the concentrations of other minerals that may be present. The slag produced during the smelting and refining operations is also a waste product. It may contain quantities of arsenic, lead, and other materials that are potentially harmful. Tin itself has no known harmful effects on humans or the environment.
The Future
The use of tin is expected to grow as new applications are developed. Because tin has no known detrimental effects, it is expected to replace other more environmentally harmful metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. One new application is the formulation of tin-silver solders to replace tinlead solders in the electronics industry. Another application is the use of tin shot to replace lead shot in shotgun shells.
Development work is underway to create a tin-based compound for use in refuse disposal landfill sites. This compound will interact with heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium, to prevent rain water from carrying them into the surrounding soil and water table.
Where to Learn More
Books
Brady, George S., Henry R. Clauser, and John A. Vaccari. Materials Handbook, 14th Edition. McGraw-Hill, 1997.
Heiserman, David L. Exploring Chemical Elements and Their Compounds. TAB Books, 1992.
Hornbostel, Caleb. Construction Materials, 2nd Edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1991.
Kroschwitz, Jacqueline 1. and Mary Howe-Grant, ed. Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 4th edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1993.
Stwertka, Albert. A Guide to the Elements. Oxford University Press, 1996.
Periodicals
"Bronze Age Mine Found in Turkey," Science News (January 15, 1994): 46.
A chemical element, symbol Sn, atomic number 50, atomic weight 118.69. Tin forms tin(II) or stannous (Sn2+), and tin(IV) or stannic (Sn4+) compounds, as well as complex salts of the stannite (M2SnX4) and stannate (M2SnX6) types. See alsoPeriodic table.
Tin melts at a low temperature, is highly fluid when molten, and has a high boiling point. It is soft and pliable and is corrosion-resistant to many media. An important use of tin has been for tin-coated steel containers (tin cans) used for preserving foods and beverages. Other important uses are solder alloys, bearing metals, bronzes, pewter, and miscellaneous industrial alloys. Tin chemicals, both inorganic and organic, find extensive use in the electroplating, ceramic, plastic, and agricultural industries.
The most important tin-bearing mineral is cassiterite, SnO2. No high-grade deposits of this mineral are known. The bulk of the world's tin ore is obtained from low-grade alluvial deposits. See alsoCassiterite.
Two allotropic forms of tin exist: white (β) and gray (α) tin. Tin reacts with both strong acids and strong bases, but it is relatively resistant to solutions that are nearly neutral. In a wide variety of corrosive conditions, hydrogen gas is not evolved from tin and the rate of corrosion becomes controlled by the supply of oxygen or other oxidizing agents. In their absence, corrosion is negligible. A thin film of stannic oxide forms on tin upon exposure to air and provides surface protection. Salts that have an acid reaction in solution, such as aluminum chloride and ferric chloride, attack tin in the presence of oxidizers or air. Most nonaqueous liquids, such as oils, alcohols, or chlorinated hydrocarbons, have slight or no obvious effect on tin. Tin metal and the simple inorganic salts of tin are nontoxic. Some forms of organotin compounds, on the other hand, are toxic. Some important physical constants for tin are shown in the table.
Stannous oxide, SnO, is a blue-black, crystalline product which is soluble in common acids and strong alkalies. It is used in making stannous salts for plating and glass manufacture. Stannic oxide, SnO2, is a white powder, insoluble in acids and alkalies. It is an excellent glaze opacifier, a component of pink, yellow, and maroon ceramic stains and of dielectric and refractory bodies. It is an important polishing agent for marble and decorative stones.
Stannous chloride, SnCl2, is the major ingredient in the acid electrotinning electrolyte and is an intermediate for tin chemicals. Stannic chloride, SnCl4, in the pentahydrate form is a white solid. It is used in the preparation of organotin compounds and chemicals to weight silk and to stabilize perfume and colors in soap. Stannous fluoride, SnF2, a white water-soluble compound, is a toothpaste additive.
Organotin compounds are those compounds in which at least one tin-carbon bond exists, the tin usually being present in the + IV oxidation state. Organotin compounds that find applications in industry are the compounds with the general formula R4Sn, R3SnX, R2SnX2, and RSnX3. R is an organic group, often methyl, butyl, octyl, or phenyl, while X is an inorganic substituent, commonly chloride, fluoride, oxide, hydroxide, carboxylate, or thiolate. See alsoTin alloys.
(Threaded Internet Newsreader) A newsreader for Usenet newsgroups that maintains message threads. It is based on the tass newsreader, which was derived from Plato Notes. See Usenet.
A metal; a dietary essential for experimental animals, but so widely distributed in foods that no deficiency has been reported in human beings, and its function, if any, is not known. In the absence of oxygen tin is resistant to corrosion; hence its use in cans for food.
Metallic chemical element, chemical symbol Sn, atomic number 50. It is a soft, silvery white metal with a bluish tinge, employed since antiquity in the traditional form of bronze, its alloy with copper. It occurs chiefly as the dioxide (stannic oxide, SnO2) in cassiterite. Since it is nontoxic, ductile, malleable, and easily worked, it is used to plate steel cans ("tin cans") for use as food containers and to coat and plate other items. Pure tin is too weak to be used alone, but its many alloys include soft solder, pewter, bronze, and low-temperature casting alloys. It has valence 2 or 4 in compounds, including stannous chloride (used in tin galvanizing and manufacturing polymers and dyes), stannous oxide (used to make tin salts for chemical reagents and plating), stannous fluoride (used as an anticavity ingredient in toothpastes), stannic chloride (a stabilizer for perfumes and a source of other tin salts), and stannic oxide (a catalyst and a polishing powder for steel). Tin bonds with carbon to form organotin compounds, used to stabilize PVC and in biocides and fungicides.
1. A lustrous white, soft, and malleable metal having a low melting point; relatively unaffected by exposure to air; used for making alloys and solder and in coating sheet metal. 2. To coat with a layer of tin.
Soft bright silvery-white malleable metal (Sn) with a low melting point that resists corrosion, occurring naturally in cassiterite and other ores. Used in alloys, especially as a constituent of bronze (along with copper and lead) from early Bronze Age times onwards. Tin ores are relatively scarce in the Old World, the main sources being Cornwall in Britain, northwest Spain, and Bohemia. Lesser sources may have been used in central Italy and eastern Turkey, along with highly localized outcrops now lost. As a result, tin was widely traded in antiquity.
metallic chemical element; symbol Sn [Lat. stannum]; at. no. 50; at. wt. 118.69; m.p. 231.9681°C; b.p. 2,270°C; sp. gr. 5.75 (gray), 7.3 (white); valence +2 or +4. Tin exhibits allotropy; above 13.2°C it is a lustrous, silver-white, highly crystalline metal with tetragonal structure. A brittle form with orthorhombic structure may exist above 161°C. Below 13.2°C pure tin tends to become a gray powder, a change commonly designated “tin pest” or “tin disease.” Tin is very soft (only slightly harder than lead) and malleable; it can be rolled, pressed, or hammered into extremely thin sheets (tin foil). When iron or steel is dipped into molten tin, a layer of tin is deposited on the surface. A tin coating may also be applied by electroplating, which uses less tin. The tin serves to prevent rusting, since it is barely affected by moisture. The tin plate used in tin cans is an iron or steel sheet coated with tin. A tin coating is used to protect copper and other metals. Tin is a component of antifriction metal, bell metal, britannia metal, bronze, gunmetal, pewter, solder, and other alloys. Tin forms stannous compounds, in which it has valence +2, and stannic compounds, in which it has valence +4, as well as stannites, stannates, and other complex salts. Industrially useful compounds of tin include stannous chloride, important as a reducing agent, as a mordant in dyeing, and for weighting silk; stannic chloride, for the last two purposes and to stabilize perfume and color in soap; stannic oxide, for the preparation of white porcelain enamelware; and sodium stannite, a reducing agent. Stannous fluoride is added to toothpastes and water supplies to prevent tooth decay. Tin forms a number of toxic organometallic compounds that are used as fungicides, catalysts, and for other uses. Tin very rarely occurs uncombined in nature; the dioxide, which occurs as cassiterite, or tinstone, is the only ore of commercial importance. It is obtained chiefly from Bolivia, Indonesia, the Malay Peninsula, Congo (Kinshasa), and Nigeria. The tin mines of Cornwall, England, were formerly the principal source. The metal is prepared from cassiterite by heating in the reverberatory furnace. The ore from the mines is first given special treatment, and the “concentrates” thus obtained are mixed with coal in the furnaces. Tin was known and used by humans at least as early as the Bronze Age. The metal and its compounds were known and used by the alchemists. In 1673, Robert Boyle published a description of experiments on the oxidation (calcination) of tin. The metal was recognized as an element by Lavoisier.
A chemical element, atomic number 50, atomic weight 118.69, symbol Sn.
dibutyl t. dilaurate — a cesticide used in poultry and cage birds. It is fed to chickens and is toxic if fed accidentally to calves. Causes tremor, diarrhea and convulsions.
Tin is a malleable, ductile, highly crystalline, silvery-white metal; when a bar of tin is bent, a strange crackling sound known as the "tin cry" can be heard due to the
breaking of the crystals. This metal resists corrosion from distilled, sea and soft
tap water, but can be attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and by
acid salts. Tin acts as a catalyst when oxygen is in solution and helps accelerate chemical attack. Tin forms the dioxide SnO2 when it is
heated in the presence of air. SnO2, in turn, is feebly acidic and forms
stannate (SnO3-2) salts with basic oxides. Tin can be highly polished
and is used as a protective coat for other metals in order to prevent corrosion or other chemical action. This metal combines
directly with chlorine and oxygen and displaces hydrogen from
dilute acids. Tin is malleable at ordinary temperatures but is brittle when it is heated.
Allotropes
Tin's chemical properties fall between those of metals and non-metals, just as the semiconductors silicon and germanium do. Tin has two allotropes at normal pressure and temperature: gray tin and white tin.
Below 13.2 °C, it exists as gray or alpha tin, which has a cubic crystal structure similar to silicon and germanium. Gray tin has no metallic properties at all, is a dull-gray powdery material, and has few uses,
other than a few specialized semiconductor applications.
When warmed above 13.2 °C tin changes into white or beta tin, which is metallic and has a tetragonal structure.
Converting gray tin powder into white tin produces white tin powder. To convert powdery gray tin into solid white tin the
temperature must be raised above the melting point of tin.
Gray tin can cause undesirable effects in applications where the metallic properties of tin are important, since metallic
white tin will slowly convert to gray tin if it is held for a long time below 13.2 °Celsius. The metallic surface of white
tin becomes covered with a gray powder which is easily rubbed off. The gray patches slowly expand until all of the tin in the
object is converted from the metal to the powder, at which point it loses its structural integrity and may fall to pieces. This
process is known as tin disease or tin pest. Tin pest was a particular problem in
northern Europe in the 18th century as organ pipes made of
tin would sometimes completely disintegrate during long cold winters.[citation needed] Some sources also say that during Napoleon's Russian campaign of 1812, the temperatures became so cold that the tin buttons on the
soldiers' uniforms disintegrated, contributing to the defeat of the Grande Armée. However, the veracity of this story is
debatable, because Napoleon would likely have foreseen this problem, and the transformation to gray tin often takes a reasonably
long time.[1] This transformation, however, may be
prevented by the addition of antimony or bismuth.
Applications
Tin bonds readily to iron, and has been used for coating lead or zinc and steel to prevent corrosion.
Tin-plated steel containers are widely used for food
preservation, and this forms a large part of the market for metallic tin. Speakers of British English call them "tins";
Americans call them "cans" or "tin cans". One thus-derived use of the slang term
"tinnie" or "tinny" means "can of beer". The tin whistle is
so called because it was first mass-produced in tin-plated steel.
The most important salt formed is stannous chloride, which has found use as a
reducing agent and as a mordant in the calico printing process. Electrically conductive coatings
are produced when tin salts are sprayed onto glass. These coatings have been used in panel
lighting and in the production of frost-free windshields.
Most metal pipes in a pipe organ are made of varying amounts of a tin/lead alloy, with
50%/50% being the most common. The amount of tin in the pipe defines the pipe's tone, since tin is the most tonally resonant of
all metals. When a tin/lead alloy cools, the lead cools slightly faster and makes a mottled or spotted effect. This metal alloy
is referred to as spotted metal.
Window glass is most often made via floating molten glass on top of molten tin (creating
float glass) in order to make a flat surface (this is called the "Pilkington process").
Tin is also used in solders for joining pipes or
electric circuits, in bearing alloys,
in glass-making, and in a wide range of tin chemical applications. Although of higher melting point than a lead-tin alloy, the use of pure tin or tin alloyed with other metals in these applications is rapidly supplanting
the use of the previously common lead–containing alloys in order to eliminate the problems of toxicity caused by lead.
Tin foil was once a common wrapping material for foods and drugs; replaced in the early 20th century by the use of
aluminium foil, which is now commonly referred to as tin foil. Hence one use of
the slang term "tinnie" or "tinny" for a small retail package of a drug such as cannabis or for a can of beer.
Tin becomes a superconductor below 3.72 K. In
fact, tin was one of the first superconductors to be studied; the Meissner effect, one
of the characteristic features of superconductors, was first discovered in superconducting tin crystals. The niobium-tin compound Nb3Sn is commercially used as wires for
superconducting magnets, due to the material's high critical temperature (18 K) and critical magnetic field (25 T). A superconducting magnet weighing only a couple of kilograms is
capable of producing magnetic fields comparable to a conventional electromagnet weighing
tons.
History
Tin (Old English: tin, Old Latin:
plumbum candidum ("white lead"), Old German: tsin, Late Latin: stannum) is one of the earliest metals known and was used as a component of
bronze from antiquity. Because of its hardening effect on copper,
tin was used in bronze implements as early as 3,500 BC. Tin mining is believed to have
started in Cornwall and Devon (esp. Dartmoor) in Classical times, and a thriving tin trade developed with the civilizations of the
Mediterranean[2][3]. However the lone metal was
not used until about 600 BC. The last Cornish Tin Mine, at South
Crofty near Camborne closed in 1998 bringing 4,000 years of mining in Cornwall to an
end.
The word "tin" has cognates in many Germanic and Celtic languages. The American Heritage Dictionary speculates that the word
was borrowed from a pre-Indo-European language. The later name "stannum" and its Romance derivatures come from the lead-silver alloy of the same name for the finding of the latter in
ores; the former "stagnum" was the word for a stale pool or puddle.
In modern times, the word "tin" is often improperly used as a generic phrase for any silvery metal that comes in sheets. Most
everyday materials that are commonly called "tin", such as aluminum foil,
beverage cans, corrugated building sheathing and tin cans,
are actually made of steel or aluminum, although tin cans
(tinned cans) do contain a thin coating of tin to inhibit rust. Likewise, so-called "tin toys" are
usually made of steel, and may or may not have a coating of tin to inhibit rust.
Occurrence
Tin output in 2005
In 2005, China was the largest producer of tin, with at least one-third of the world's share, closely followed by
Indonesia and South America, reports the British
Geological Survey.
Tin is produced by reducing the ore with coal in a reverberatory furnace. This metal is a relatively scarce element with an abundance in the
Earth's crust of about 2
ppm, compared with 94 ppm for zinc, 63 ppm for copper, and 12 ppm for lead. Most of
the world's tin is produced from placer deposits. The only mineral of commercial importance as a source of tin is cassiterite
(SnO2), although small quantities of tin are recovered from complex sulfides such as stannite, cylindrite,
franckeite, canfieldite, and teallite. Secondary, or scrap, tin is also an important source of the metal.
Tin is the element with the greatest number of stable isotopes (ten), which is probably related to the fact that 50 is a
"magic number" of protons. 28 additional unstable isotopes are known, including
the "doubly magic" tin-100 (100Sn) (discovered in 1994)[4].
Elemental tin is an essential nutrient, needed in very small amounts. The small
amount of tin that is found in canned foods is not harmful to humans.[citations needed]
Nederlands (Dutch)
(van) tin, blik, bus, vorm, inblikken
Français (French) n. - (Minér) étain, (GB) boîte (de conserve), boîte, pot, (Culin) moule, plat (à rôtir), (GB) tirelire (pour faire la quête) v. tr. - mettre en boîte, mettre en conserve adj. - de conserve, en boîte
Deutsch (German) n. - Büchse, Dose, Form, Zinn, (Slang) Geld v. - in Dosen einmachen, verzinnen adj. - Zinn-, aus Zinn, Blech-
idioms:
tin hat (Slang) Stahlhelm
tin Lizzie altes Ford-Automobil
tin whistle Blechflöte
abbr. - (USA) Kennummer des Steuerzahlers (TIN)
Ελληνική (Greek) n. - κασσίτερος (κν. καλάι), λευκοσίδηρος (κν. τενεκές), (Βρετ.) κονσέρβα, κονσερβοκούτι v. - γανώνω, επικασσιτερώνω, κονσερβοποιώ adj. - κασσιτέρινος, τσίγκινος abbr. - (ΗΠΑ) αριθμός φορολογουμένου
idioms:
tin hat (χαλύβδινο) κράνος
tin Lizzie σακαράκα
tin whistle σφυρίχτρα
Italiano (Italian) inscatolare, barattolo, stampo, di latta
idioms:
tin hat elmetto
tin Lizzie macinino
tin whistle piffero
Português (Portuguese) n. - dinheiro (m), estanho (m), lata (f), folha de flandres (f) v. - enlatar, estanhar adj. - de estanho, de zinco abbr. - sn (Quím.)
idioms:
tin hat capacete (m)
tin Lizzie automóvel (m) barato (gír.)
tin whistle apito de metal (m)
Русский (Russian) олово, жестяная банка, консервировать, закупоривать в жестяную банку
idioms:
tin hat стальной шлем, защитный шлем рабочего
tin Lizzie старый автомобиль, первейший автомобиль марки Т-Форд
tin whistle полицейский свисток
Español (Spanish) n. - lata, bote, tarro, molde v. tr. - estañar, enlatar, envasar adj. - de estaño, de hojalata
idioms:
tin hat casco de acero
tin Lizzie auto viejo
tin whistle flautín
abbr. - (abr) número de identificación de pago de impuestos (en EEUU)
Svenska (Swedish) n. - tenn, bleck, plåt, konservburk, plåtburk, form v. - förtenna, lägga in, konservera adj. - tenn-, plåt- abbr. - skattenummer
