Bronze alloy is a yellow to yellow-brown alloy that contains mostly copper and tin. However, the name is now applied to other alloys that do not contain tin. Bronze was developed in Mesopotania around 2500BC. Bronze is ductile, resistant to salt water, has a hard low friction surface and does not generate sparks when hit. This has meant it has been applied in a large number of areas from coinage, hammers, bearings, ship propellers, ship bearings and sculpture.
Aluminium Bronze – a copper-aluminum alloy with high tensile strength and resistance to corrosion. Sometimes contained a small amount of manganese or nickel.
Arsenical Bronze – an alloy of copper and arsenic in addition to other metals. Also known as Arsenical Copper.
Bath Metal – a cheap bronze made with 21 parts copper and 5 parts zinc. The same as pinchbeck.
Bell Metal – copper tin alloy with much higher tin content than conventional bronze in order to make it hard and sonorous. It is too brittle to be used for many other applications. Bells are cast with the core purposefully off-centre. Thus locking the mode of vibration on the bell. If the bell was perfectly symmetric you would hear the sound increase and decrease in amplitude as the mode of vibration moved around the bell.
Florentine Bronze – a modern term for an alloy usually formed as a mixture of aluminium or tin (<10%) and copper (>90%).
Manganese Bronze – a copper alloy containing zinc, manganese and a small quantity of nickel.
Paris Bronze – a term given to brass containing 88% copper, 10% zinc and 2% lead used to produce trinkets and souvenirs.
Phosphor Bronze – An alloy of copper with 3.5 to 10% of tin and a significant phosphorus content of up to 1%.
Pinchbeck – a cheap bronze made with 21 parts copper and 5 parts zinc. The same as Bath Metal.