Okay so usually I'm pretty good at this but today I'm not. I have a bunch of melty metal bits after a really old German shot glass I found that I was
using as a crucible melted at pretty low temperatures. I'd like to know what metal it iswas. Here's what I got:
Density: 8.24 g/ml
Observations: Turns grey black in acid, slight reactivity with Hydrochloric Acid, although barely. Grey layer forms when explosed to air for awhile,
although it still retains some luster.
Any ideas?
Daffodile - 10-12-2016 at 11:33
Oh yeah there's also some wierdness with Sulfur, it managed to react with a sulfur containing dye that I was burning to form a sulfide that reacted
with acids.Neme - 10-12-2016 at 11:37
Is it pure metal or alloy?Daffodile - 10-12-2016 at 11:53
I dont know but I'm assuming its pure or a well known alloy as this was mass
produced a long time ago.
It melts far under red head, and at continued heating, the oxide layer can be skimmed off to give an unreactive shiny molten bead. I'm really hoping
this is a silver tin alloy
[Edited on 10-12-2016 by Daffodile]unionised - 10-12-2016 at 12:22
Is there any color in the acid when you try the reaction?
The surface turns black but solution is colourlessChlorine - 10-12-2016 at 14:02
What you're describing sounds a lot like pewter. That would explain why a class crucible was used. Also pewter barely reacts with hydrochloric acid.unionised - 10-12-2016 at 14:16
Nickel silver would have a rather higher melting point.
nickel silver, aka 'German Silver' ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_silver
60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc
but I've no idea how it reacts to acids = copper usually means green?
Copper usually means green, but it
would be the last metal to react.Sulaiman - 10-12-2016 at 14:20
appologies - I realised that it is probably not nickel silver and deleted my post before anyone caught it ... I thought Daffodile - 10-12-2016 at 20:29
Definitely pewter, although probably a zincy tiny antimonyey variety. Thanks guys.Liamatpm - 20-12-2016 at 10:22
It could be lead pewter, that is used in cup before they were banned in a couple of places.froot - 21-12-2016 at 00:30
