Malleability

Description

The ability of a material to be formed or shaped by pressure without rupturing. Malleable metals can be rolled or hammered into thin sheets. Metals malleable by hammering are (in order starting with the most malleable): Gold, Silver, Aluminum, Copper, Tin, Platinum, Lead, hot Zinc, and soft steel (Mayer 1969). Metals in order of malleability by rolling are: lead, tin, gold, silver, aluminum, copper and platinum (Untracht 1968). Cast iron and hard steel are not malleable.

Synonyms and Related Terms

malléabilité (Fr.); Duktilität (Deut.); Verformbarkeit (Deut.); maleabilidad (Esp.); smeedbaarheid (Ned.); maleabilidade (Port.)

Resources and Citations

• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• Oppi Untracht, Metal Techniques for Craftsmen, Doubleday & Company, Garden City, 1968

• Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982

• ASTM, Standard Terminology of Microscopy, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Section 14, General Methods and Instrumentation, ASTM, E175, 75-78, May 1982