Tin is a silver, somewhat softmetal. It is apost-transition metal. Its melting point is 231.93°C and its boiling point is 2602°C. It can melt easily in a flame. It ismalleable. It makes a crackling sound called tin cry when a piece of it is bent. Tin has more non-radioactiveisotopes than any other element.
Tin is found in twoallotropes: alpha-tin and beta-tin. Alpha-tin is a brittle, dull, powdery,semimetallic form of tin. It is made when very pure tin is cooled. Beta-tin is the normal shiny, soft,conductive, metallic form. It is made at higher temperatures. The decay of tin by turning from beta-tin to alpha-tin is calledtin pest. Alpha-tin is not wanted in many places. When small amounts of other elements likeantimony are added, the tin cannot change into alpha-tin. When alpha-tin is heated, it changes into beta-tin.
Tin can be hardened by adding antimony orcopper, as well as some other elements. These also make it resistant to tin pest. Tin can also be made very shiny. Tin can make analloy withcopper calledbronze.
Tin resists manycorrosive substances and is often used to protect other metals. Salt water and fresh water do not affect tin. It dissolves in strong acids to make tin salts. It reacts with some strong bases.
Tin formschemical compounds in twooxidation states: +2 and +4. +2 compounds are reducing agents. Some of them are colorless while others are colored. +4 compounds are more unreactive and act morecovalent.
Tin burns in air to maketin(IV) oxide, which is white. Tin(IV) oxide dissolves inacids to make other tin(IV) compounds.Tin(IV) chloride is a colorless fuming liquid whenanhydrous and a white solid whenhydrated. It easily reacts with water to make tin(IV) oxide and an acid again.
Tin is not found as a metal in the ground. It is normally in the form ofcassiterite. Cassiterite is amineral containgtin(IV) oxide. The cassiterite is normally found downstream of the cassiterite deposit when it is by a stream or river. Tin is also found in some complicatedsulfide minerals.
Tin does not have any major job in the human body.
People discovered tin long ago and used it with other metals. Whencopper and tin are mixed together,bronze is made. Bronze was important in the past, because it was one of the strongest metals available, which meant it was useful in weapons and tools. Bronze changed the world when it was first invented, starting theBronze Age. People organized themselves more, because making tools from bronze was harder than making them from rock and wood like they did before.
Tin is used insolder. Solder used to contain a mixture of lead and tin. Now the lead is removed because of itstoxicity.
Tin is also used to makepewter, which is mainly tin mixed with a small amount of copper and other metals.Babbitt metal also has tin in it. Tin is used to coat several metals, like lead and steel. Tin plated steel containers are used to store foods. The pipes on apipe organ are made of tin.Tin foil was used beforealuminium foil. Tin was one of the firstsuperconductors to be found. Organotin compounds are more common than almost any otherorganometal compound. They are used in somePVC pipes to stop them from decaying. Organotin compounds are toxic, though.
_NIST_ASD_emission_spectrum.png)
_chloride.jpg)
_chloride_pentahydrate.jpg)
_chloride.jpg)
-iodide-sample.jpg)
_oxide.jpg)
