Bronze
material · 3300 BC · Stone Age
An alloy of copper and tin that gave its name to an age.
Principles and materials it uses
- Copper — is made of. Bronze is based on copper.
- Tin — is made of. Tin makes bronze hard.
- Casting — uses. Bronze objects were cast in moulds.
Where it is used
- Antikythera mechanism — is material for. The gears are bronze.
- Cannon — is material for. The first cannons were cast in bronze.
- Fish hook — is material for. Bronze, then steel hooks.
- Sword — is material for. Bronze swords.
- Zhang Heng’s seismoscope — is material for. A bronze vessel.
- Bell — is material for. Bell bronze.
- Rivet — is material for. Ancient rivets were copper and bronze.
- Catheter — is material for. The Greeks and Romans made them of bronze.
- Helmet — is material for. Ancient helmets were copper and bronze.
- Trowel — is material for. Ancient trowels were bronze.
- Saucepan — is material for. Ancient cauldrons were bronze and copper.
- Door hinge — is material for. Ancient hinges were bronze.
- Anvil — is material for. Then bronze ones.
- Scissors — is material for. Ancient scissors were bronze.
- Pliers — is material for. Ancient tongs were bronze.
- Blacksmith’s tongs — is material for. Blacksmith’s tongs were bronze, later iron.
- File — is material for. Ancient files were bronze, then iron.
- Cutlery — is material for. Ancient spoons and knives were bronze.
- Padlock — is material for. And bronze.
- Crossbow — is material for. The trigger of Chinese crossbows was bronze.
- Trigger — is material for. Crossbow trigger mechanisms were bronze.
- Buckle — is material for. Ancient buckles were bronze.
- Diving bell — is material for. Aristotle described the bell as an upturned cauldron.
- Gear — is material for. Ancient gears were bronze.
- Cylinder — is material for. The cylinders of Ctesibius’s pump are bronze.
- Check valve — is material for. The valves of ancient pumps were bronze.
- Valve — is material for. Ancient taps and valves were bronze.
- Pipe organ — is material for. The pipes of the hydraulis were bronze.
- Worm gear — is material for. Worm gears are bronze.
- Armillary sphere — is material for. Armillary spheres are bronze rings.
What it is a kind of
- Alloy — is a kind of. Bronze is an alloy.