Brass

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Brass paperweight.

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Some types of brass are called bronzes.

Brass has a golden appearance. It is harder than pure metals and resists corrosion. It costs more than zinc.

There are some common brasses:

• Alpha brasses - with less than 40% zinc
• Beta brasses -
• White brasses - with more than 45% zinc

Things brass are used to make include:

• Brass instruments
• Ornaments
• Electrical fittings
• Buttons
• Screws
• Taps
• Hinges
• Door knobs

Properties

Brass is more malleable than bronze or zinc. The melting point of brass can be 900 to 940 °C or 1,650 to 1,720 °F, depending on what it is made of. The density of brass is 8.4 to 8.73 g/cm³ (0.303 to 0.315 lb/cu in).

Today, almost 90% of all brass alloys are recycled. Brass is not ferromagnetic. Brass scrap is collected and transported to the foundry. In the foundry, it is melted and recast into billets. The billets are heated and stretched into the form and size that is wanted.

Brass will corrode when it is exposed to moisture, chlorides, acetates, ammonia, and some acids.

Brass alloys

There are many brass alloys. They include:

• Abyssinian gold
• Admiralty brass
• Aich's alloy
• Aluminum brass
• Arsenical brass
• Cartridge brass
• Common brass
• DZR brass
• Delta metal
• Free machining brass
• Gilding metal
• High brass
• Leaded brass
• Lead-free brass
• Low brass
• Manganese brass
• Muntz metal
• Naval brass
• Nickel brass
• Nordic gold
• Orichalcum
• Prince's metal
• Red brass
• Tombac
• Silicon tombac
• Tonval brass
• Yellow brass

Brass Media

• Planispheric Astrolabe MET DP105325.jpg

  Islamic Golden Age brass astrolabe

• Brass lectern in the form of an eagle attributed to Aert van Tricht the Elder, Limburg (Netherlands), c. 1500, The Cloisters.jpg

  Brass lectern with an eagle. Attributed to Aert van Tricht, Limburg (Netherlands), c. 1500.

• Microstructure of rolled and annealed brass; magnification 400X.jpg

  Microstructure of rolled and annealed brass (400× magnification)

• Diagramme binaire Cu Zn.svg

  Copper-zinc (Cu-Zn) binary phase diagram: brass.

• Trumpets02262006.jpg

  A collection of brass instruments

• BrassSCC1.jpg

  Cracking in brass caused by ammonia attack

• Iranian - Ewer - Walters 54457 - Profile.jpg

  7th-century Persian ewer in brass with copper inlay, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, US

• Renier de Huy JPG0.jpg

  Baptism of Christ on the 12th-century baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège

• Lion Aquamanile, 1200-1250 AD, German, Lower Saxony, Hildesheim, bronze - Cleveland Museum of Art - DSC08638.JPG

  Brass aquamanile from Lower Saxony, Germany, c. 1250