Alpha brass
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Description
Alpha brass is an alloy of Brass that contains less than 38% of Zinc. The zinc is dissolved in the Copper and the alloy has the same structure as copper. Alpha brass is ductile, has high tensile strength and can be cold-worked. Most ancient brasses do not contain over 28% zinc as this was the proportion that was adsorbed by the copper when the zinc ore was reduced (Scott, 1991).
Synonyms and Related Terms
Alpha-Messing (Deut.)
Resources and Citations
- G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 114
- David C. Scott, Metallography and Microstructure of Ancient and Historic Metals, The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 1991
- Henry Hodges, Artifacts: An Introduction to Early Materials and Technology, Ronald P. Frye, Kingston, Canada, 1988