Differences between copper and brass and bronze, their characteristics. Differences between copper and bronze What is stronger: brass or copper

There are a number of ways that will tell you how to distinguish bronze from brass. In the presented material I would like to consider the simplest and most accessible solutions for implementing this task. Let's find out how to distinguish bronze from brass at home.

What is bronze?

Before we figure out how to distinguish bronze from brass, let's find out what each alloy is. Let's start with bronze. So, bronze is mixed with silicon, aluminum, beryllium and lead. It is the quality of the tin used that largely determines the nature of the future alloy.

There is a special type of bronze, in the manufacture of which tin is replaced with nickel or zinc. This alloy is known as spiater. Essentially, the material is a cheap version of bronze, which is not of the best quality.

According to the above manufacturing principles, bronze is divided into tin and tin-free. At the beginning of the last century, metallurgists produced arsenic bronze. However, due to its high toxicity, the material was never widely used.

What is brass?

Brass is practically the same alloy as bronze. But instead of the alloying composition in the form of tin, zinc is used here in combination with copper. Sometimes lead, iron, nickel, manganese, and other elements are added to the alloy.

They still knew how to produce brass. They were the first to learn how to combine molten copper with zinc ore. Pure zinc began to be used for the production of brass only at the end of the 18th century in Britain. The British often used the alloy to create fake gold, because brass, like a noble metal, has an attractive sunny shine.

Today the material is widely used to create the so-called bimetal - an alloy where steel is combined with brass. This solution contributes to the production of metal that is resistant to corrosion and abrasion. At the same time, bimetal products have good ductility.

Defining Differences Between Bronze and Brass

How to distinguish bronze from brass? The difference between the presented alloys is as follows:

Brass is obtained by combining zinc with copper. In turn, bronze is produced by alloying copper with tin.
Bronze can be in contact with sea and salt water for a long time without destroying the structure of the material. Brass requires additional processing in the form of alloying.
Bronze has increased resistance to mechanical wear and is a durable material. For this reason, the alloy is widely used to create all kinds of sculptures and monuments. Brass is not suitable for these purposes, although it is used as elements of artistic products.
How to distinguish copper from brass and bronze? Copper has a reddish tint. At the same time, bronze has a dark brown color and a coarse-grained structure. Brass has a yellow tint and is a fine-grained material.

Differences between bronze and brass according to weight

How to distinguish bronze from brass based on the weight of the materials? It is worth noting that bronze is a fairly heavy alloy. In equal volumes of workpieces, bronze will be clearly heavier than brass. Therefore, you can distinguish products from individual alloys by weighing them on your palms.

How to distinguish alloys by heating?

You need to try to distinguish between materials using the thermal effect method. However, the results in this case will be more reliable. What do we have to do? It is necessary to heat both alloys using a gas burner to a temperature of more than 600 o C. With this effect, an ashy coating forms on the surface, which is zinc oxide. At the same time, the bronze will remain in its original form.

After heating, the brass will become more ductile. Bronze does not change its physical properties when exposed to high temperatures. If you try to bend a brass workpiece, the structure of the latter will not be damaged. As for bronze, it will definitely break at the bend.

How to distinguish brass from bronze with a magnet?

As noted above, bronze contains tin and lead. These materials can be attracted by a magnet. The only thing required to carry out the experiment is to find a fairly strong magnet. When using it, the bronze will slightly stick to the surface. The magnet will not have any effect on brass.

Finally

As you can see, there are a number of ways that allow you to distinguish bronze from brass at home. In most cases, there are pronounced visual differences between products made from these alloys. Therefore, to cope with the task, sometimes it is enough just to carefully consider both materials.

To answer the question, how is copper different from bronze?, let us turn to the properties and origin of copper and bronze.

This is why copper is often used in electrical wiring. In your home, you may see wires made of plastic with copper wire inside.

A very long time ago, people began to think about how to make copper tools more durable. To achieve this, man began to combine copper with various other metals. More often, people experimented by mixing copper with tin, which resulted in bronze- one of the oldest alloys ever made by man.

Thus, bronze became known to humans a long time ago. In different parts of the world it was smelted in its own way. Thus, in West Africa, scientists found 40% tin in bronze items. At that time in Central Asia, the amount of tin in products very rarely exceeded 20%.

Nowadays, a little lead and zinc are added to bronze. With these additives it becomes more fluid and soft. Various objects can be made from this alloy, for example: sculptures, medals, and even ship propellers.

In the metallurgical industry, there are clear criteria for distinguishing one alloy from another. It’s a completely different story in everyday life, when an ordinary person decides to use some kind of metal or alloy without really understanding what it’s used for and how it’s different.

Definition

Bronze- is an alloy of copper and tin, aluminum, silicon, lead, beryllium and other elements. However, it is tin that is most often used to produce high-quality bronze. There are also alloys that use zinc and/or nickel. They are called spiater and, in fact, are a cheap analogue of bronze. The name of the alloy itself comes from the Italian bronzo, and the history of the origin of this term goes back to the Persian berenj, which means copper. Depending on the presence of a particular metal, there are tin, aluminum, beryllium and silicon bronzes. Based on this feature, bronze can be divided into two large groups - tin and tin-free. Arsenic bronze once even existed, but it did not become widespread.

Brass- this is also an alloy, but the main, so-called alloying element here is zinc in connection with copper, to which lead, nickel, manganese, tin, iron or other elements are sometimes added. Methods for producing brass were already known to the ancient Romans; they smelted copper with zinc ore. Pure zinc was only used to make brass in 1781 in England, and in the nineteenth century the special color of this metal allowed it to be used as counterfeit gold, a practice that spread to many countries. Currently, this alloy is used to produce steel-brass bimetal - this is very convenient and guarantees resistance to rusting, abrasion, and in addition, the products are quite ductile. In addition to its industrial value, the so-called tombak (a type of brass) is used in the manufacture of artistic products, accessories and insignia.

Comparison

As we found out, the main metal for producing bronze and brass is copper. However, combining it with tin (as in bronze) or zinc (as in brass) makes it possible to obtain alloys with different properties and specific applications. For example, bronze is one of the favorite materials of sculptors, who use it for busts, monuments, fences and other solutions that require beauty and durability. Brass can hardly be used for such purposes, although it is sometimes used to create artistic products. The reason for this is the plasticity of brass; it is more susceptible to wear, while bronze monuments can live for centuries.

It is also interesting that bronze products have been used in maritime affairs since ancient times. They withstand the effects of salt water quite well, but pure brass is not capable of this. To give it the desired properties, alloying with tin, aluminum or lead is required.

The two alloys also differ in appearance. Bronze has a coarse grain structure and is dark brown in color. Brass, in turn, is lighter, similar to gold due to its characteristic yellowness, and its structure is more fine-grained than the first alloy.

On the left is brass. Right - bronze

And of course, both alloys are divided into different groups. Brass is divided into two-component and multi-component, while bronze is divided into tin and tin-free.

Conclusions website

Bronze is obtained by alloying copper with tin, and brass is obtained by alloying copper with zinc.
Bronze can come into contact with sea water, but brass requires additional alloying for this.
Bronze is stronger and more wear-resistant and can be used for monuments, but brass is not capable of this, although it is used in artistic products.
Bronze is dark brown in color and coarse-grained, while brass is yellow and fine-grained.
Bronze is divided into tin and tin-free groups, and brass into two-component and multi-component.

Bronze and brass are very similar in appearance. However, they differ significantly in their chemical composition and characteristics. The metallurgical industry clearly distinguishes one alloy from another. But in everyday life it can be very difficult for a buyer to figure this out, especially when purchasing a rather expensive bronze item. Therefore, it is extremely important to know how to distinguish bronze from brass.

Characteristics of metals

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, silicon, beryllium, aluminum, lead and other elements. However, only tin is often used to obtain high-quality bronze. There are also alloys that use nickel and/or zinc. They are called spiater and are a cheap analogue of bronze.

Depending on what metal is present in the alloy, bronze is distinguished:

tin;
beryllium;
aluminum;
silicon.

Thanks to this variety, the material is divided into two large groups - tin and tin-free. Previously, arsenic bronze also existed, but it was not widely used.

Brass is also an alloy, but here The main element is zinc in combination with copper, to which nickel, tin, lead, manganese, iron or other elements may sometimes be added. Already in Ancient Rome, methods for producing this alloy were known. The Romans learned to smelt copper with zinc ore. It was only in 1781 that zinc in its pure form began to be used in England to produce brass. In the nineteenth century, due to its special color, this metal began to be used as counterfeit gold, and this quickly spread to many countries.

Currently, such an alloy is used to produce steel-brass bimetal. It is resistant to corrosion and abrasion, and is also quite flexible. In addition to the fact that brass is used in industry, its variety, called tombak, is quite often used for the manufacture of fittings, artistic products and insignia.

Comparison of two metals

As mentioned above, copper is used to make bronze and brass. However, its combination with tin or zinc produces alloys that have different properties and are used in different fields.

For example, bronze is considered a material that sculptors like to use to create busts, fences, monuments and other solutions that require durability and beauty. Brass is practically not used for such purposes; it is only occasionally used to create some kind of artistic products. The reason is the plasticity of the metal; it wears out quite quickly, while bronze monuments can stand for centuries.

An interesting fact is that bronze products have been used in maritime affairs since ancient times. They Excellent resistance to the negative effects of salt water, whereas brass in its pure form is completely incapable of this. To achieve certain properties, alloying with aluminum, lead or tin is required.

The appearance of these alloys is also slightly different. Bronze has a coarse-grained structure dark brown. Brass is much lighter; because of its characteristic yellowness, it resembles gold, and its structure is fine-grained.

For those who collect and sell scrap metal, it is very important to be able to distinguish copper from brass. After all, the price of metal is much higher. The main thing is to know some of the physical and chemical properties of pure copper and its alloys. There are also several techniques that allow you to easily understand this issue.

Characteristics of copper, brass and bronze

In appearance, copper, brass and bronze are quite similar. But they also have significant differences:

These common characteristics help differentiate copper from brass and bronze. To achieve a more accurate result, quite often you have to resort to special methods.

Difference between metal and alloy

There are several methods to distinguish non-ferrous metals from their alloys. This can be done both without the use of special means and with the help of chemical reactions and tools.

The best experts in metals are the people who work with them, as well as those who are well aware of their properties. So, a person who knows the difference between copper and brass is a foundry worker, a chemistry teacher, a scrap metal acceptor with extensive experience, a pawn shop worker, or a jeweler. All of them, to one degree or another, work with metals and know a lot about them.

Definition of color and sound

The main difference between a metal and its alloys is color. To determine what a product is made of, you need to:

Copper always has a reddish tint, brass is yellow or golden, and the color of bronze can be from yellow-pink to brown.

The main thing in this method is to take your time and carefully examine the sample. But if brass contains more than 80% bronze, then the color of the alloy will not differ much from the color of the metal.

A characteristic feature that allows you to distinguish brass from bronze is the sound heard when a metal object hits the sample under study. The difference will be fairly easy to hear. A copper object has a muffled and low sound, while a brass object, on the contrary, has a ringing and high-pitched sound. This is a very effective method, but is only used when testing large samples.

Application of chemical solutions

To check whether the person in front of you is copper or brass, you can use a small amount of hydrochloric acid solution. This chemical is dropped onto the test sample and the reaction is monitored. Nothing will happen to pure metal, but a white substance will be released on the surface of the brass - zinc oxide.

But a salt solution helps to distinguish copper from bronze. It needs to be heated and poured over the sample being studied. The metal will darken when exposed to a hot saline solution, unlike bronze, which will not change at all.

Drill Usage and Marking

Using a drill you can easily identify brass. But it is important to remember that the tool will damage the metal object. The fact is that during operation of the drill, chips come out from under the drill, which for copper are quite long and ornate, while for brass they are, on the contrary, short and needle-shaped. After all, the metal is much softer than its alloy.

Sometimes on a piece of the material being examined you can see markings that can easily tell you what is in front of a person. So, the mark on copper begins with the letter “M”, and on brass - with “L”. But in other countries, product labeling is somewhat different from Russian:

In the USA you can see C2, C3, C4 badges on brass alloy.
In the European Union, the letter C is placed on copper and brass, but after it on the metal you can see A, B, C, D, and on the alloy - L, M, N, P, R.

This method makes it quite easy to distinguish pure copper from brass. If markings are present, then you should not resort to other recognition methods.

Sample hardness and weight difference

If the sample is small and thin-walled, then you can try to bend it. The metal is soft and easily deformed, while its alloy is much harder and less susceptible to external influences.

If the inspector has two pieces of the same shape and volume in front of him, then determining whether it is a metal or an alloy will not be difficult. The fact is that copper and bronze are much heavier than brass. When comparing samples of different weights and shapes, the use of this method becomes much more difficult.

These methods make it possible to fairly accurately distinguish pure metal from its alloys without the use of expensive special means. The main thing is to follow the recommendations. And then, when selling scrap metal, expensive copper will not be mistaken for cheaper brass and bronze.