Tin

By John Emsley2013-01-01T00:00:00

Source: © Murray Roberston/Visual Elements

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Education in Chemistry, John Emsley takes a look at the 50th element

Tin was the key to three technological advances. The first occurred five thousand years ago when a metal worker found that adding tin to copper produced bronze, a tougher metal for tools and weapons.

The second was the realisation that a coating of tin would protect iron - tinplating became an important industry in medieval Europe. The third was the use of molten tin to manufacture 'float glass', which is the modern method for producing perfect window glass.

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