White brass

Description

1) A silvery white alloy composed of 20-35% copper and 65-80% zinc. White brass is used for inexpensive jewelry and small cast items, such as buttons. It has also been called Birmingham platina and white tombac. These high zinc brasses are not malleable

2) A type of nickel silver alloy containing 50-60% copper, 20-30% nickel, and 20% zinc. White brass, or white copper, is used as a base metal for plated silverware as well as for corrosion resistant white castings, such as plaques and hardware.

3. An alloy composed of 65% tin, 28-30% zinc, and 3-6% copper. White brass is a hard, dense alloy that is used for automobile bearings (Brady 1971).

Synonyms and Related Terms

1: Birmingham platina; white tombac

2: white copper; white nickel brass; laiton blanc (Fr.); Weißmessing (Deut.); latão branco (Port.)

Additional Information

G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, 10th edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1971.

Authority

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 869

• Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "copper processing." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. 28 Oct. 2004 .