Essential Alloy Examples Around You: From Kitchen to Technology
Did you ever wonder why your stainless steel plates never rust even after coming in contact with water and air? It is because they are alloys. The application of alloys improves the property of metals. Thus, you are surrounded by alloys used in daily life. Usually, it is rare to find metals such as iron, copper, gold, silver, etc. in their pure form. You will come across their alloys, such as brass, steel, bronze, etc. An alloy is a homogeneous blend of two or more two metals or a combination of a metal and a nonmetal. Here, we will learn about alloys and their applications in detail.
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Application of Alloys
The application of alloys is an indispensable part of our daily life since metals cannot be used in their purest state. Let us understand the uses of alloys with the help of an example. Iron in its pure form is so soft that you can easily stretch it when hot. However, when you add 0.05% of carbon to iron, it becomes strong and hard. Furthermore, when you mix nickel and chromium with iron, you get an alloy known as stainless steel. Stainless steel is suitable for rough use in the household since it is hard, light-weight, and does not rust. Therefore, the uses of alloys hold a high degree of importance in our daily lives.
Uses of Alloy Steel
Steel is the most common yet the most useful metal of all times. There are multiple uses of alloy steel in our daily lives because of its physical and chemical properties. The alloy steel is a composition of carbon steel added to the homogeneous mixture of metals and non-metals. Alloy steel is further divided into two types – low-alloy and high-alloy. High-alloy steel is a mixture of metals where the alloying element is above 8%.
On the other hand, low-alloy steel contains less than 8% of the alloying element. Elements, such as aluminium, chromium, copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, silicon, etc. are mixed separately in different proportions to derive the desired constituency of alloy steel. Each element provides a specific property to the steel. Alloying provides strength, durability, and hardness to steel.
Alloys and Their Importance
Whatever you see or use, you cannot ignore alloys used in daily life. Pure metals are chemically reactive. Due to the moisture and gasses present in the atmosphere, pure metals tend to erode. However, metals in alloy form are more resistant to corrosion. They make metals more durable and easy to use. They acquire high-tensile strength.
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Alloy is prepared by melting the primary metal in liquid form and dissolving another metal or metals in accurate proportion. The mixture is then allowed to cool down and harden. Such a composition of two or more metals prepares an alloy. There is a vast list of metal alloys and their uses in our daily lives. Below is the name of daily life alloys and their composition, and uses in a tabular form.
List of Alloys and Their Composition and Uses
Fun Fact on Uses of Alloys in Daily Life
1. 22 Karat Gold is an excellent example of alloys used in daily life. The gold ornaments you wear to a wedding are alloys. Twenty-four-carat pure gold is an incredibly soft metal, which can be moulded with fingers easily. A goldsmith makes 22-carat gold ornaments with a homogeneous mixture of gold and silver, or gold and copper.
2. The steel plate that you use in your daily life to eat food is environmentally-friendly since 80% more than 80% of the old steel can be recycled into a new one.
3. When you drink water from a brass jug, you will be free from respiratory diseases.
Alloys – Use and Applications in Daily Life
Alloys can be defined as a metallic entity that is composed of two or more substances that can be either a solution or compound. These substances can be mostly metals. Carbon being a non-metal however is a major component of steel. These compounds are formed by melting the ingredients. These were discovered in the ancient eras and then the alloys that were discovered were brass and bronze which were widely used. In the present day, the most used alloys are alloy steels, as these compounds have ingredients like iron and carbon. Steel alloy has major elements like nickel, manganese, chromium, silicon, tungsten, boron and vanadium. This alloy has many useful properties like hardness, corrosion resistance, toughness and ductility. There are non-ferrous alloys like bronze, copper-nickel, aluminium alloys that are used in the coinage. We can distinguish between alloy metals and impurities which is very subtle. For example, in the alloy aluminium, the impurity that is added is silicon according to the application. The addition of silicon increases its strength. However, it decreases the property of the resistance against corrosion.
Fusible metals or fusible alloys are the alloys that have melting points below that of tin i.e. 232 degrees Celsius. These alloys are mixtures of other metals which have a low melting point. For example, bismuth, lead and tin. These alloys are used in the safety sprinklers as solder which sprays out water automatically when there is a fire that melts the alloy. These alloys melt at 90 to 100 degrees Celsius.
FAQs on Everyday Uses of Alloys: How Chemistry Shapes Your World
1. What is an alloy, and how is it different from a pure metal?
An alloy is a substance made by melting and mixing two or more elements, where at least one of them is a metal. The resulting mixture has metallic properties. The key difference from a pure metal is its composition; a pure metal consists of only one type of atom (e.g., pure iron or copper), while an alloy is a homogeneous mixture (e.g., steel, which is an alloy of iron and carbon). This mixing is done to enhance properties like strength, hardness, or corrosion resistance, which are often superior to those of the constituent pure metals.
2. What are some key examples of alloys and their uses in our daily lives?
Alloys are integral to modern life and are found everywhere. Some common examples include:
- Stainless Steel: Used for kitchen utensils, cutlery, and surgical instruments due to its strength and resistance to rust.
- Brass: Used for decorative items, musical instruments, and plumbing fittings because of its gold-like appearance and workability.
- Bronze: Used for statues, medals, and bells due to its durability and resistance to corrosion.
- Duralumin: A lightweight yet strong aluminium alloy used in aircraft frames and automobile parts.
- Solder: An alloy with a low melting point used in electronics to join components on a circuit board.
3. Why are alloys often preferred over pure metals for manufacturing and construction?
Alloys are generally preferred over pure metals because they offer enhanced properties that can be tailored for specific applications. Pure metals are often too soft, reactive, or weak for many uses. By creating an alloy, we can improve these characteristics:
- Increased Hardness and Strength: For example, pure iron is relatively soft, but when alloyed with carbon to make steel, it becomes significantly harder and stronger, making it suitable for constructing buildings and bridges.
- Corrosion Resistance: Pure iron rusts easily, but alloying it with chromium and nickel creates stainless steel, which is highly resistant to corrosion.
- Lower Melting Point: Solder, an alloy of tin and lead, has a lower melting point than either of its components, making it ideal for joining electrical wires without damaging them.
- Modified Colour and Lustre: Alloying gold with copper creates rose gold, changing its colour for use in jewellery.
4. What are the composition and primary uses of common alloys like brass, bronze, and steel?
The composition of an alloy directly determines its properties and applications. Here are the details for three common alloys:
- Brass: It is primarily an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn). Its bright, gold-like appearance and resistance to corrosion make it ideal for musical instruments, decorative hardware, and plumbing fixtures.
- Bronze: It is mainly an alloy of copper (Cu) and tin (Sn). Bronze is harder than pure copper and highly durable, making it historically important for tools, weapons, statues, and medals.
- Steel: It is an alloy of iron (Fe) and carbon (C). The small amount of carbon makes it much stronger than pure iron. It is the backbone of modern infrastructure, used in everything from cars and ships to skyscrapers and railway tracks.
5. How does adding a small amount of carbon to iron create steel, and why is this alloy so important?
Adding carbon to iron fundamentally changes its atomic structure, creating the much stronger alloy we know as steel. In pure iron, the iron atoms are arranged in a regular crystal lattice. These layers can slide over one another, making the metal relatively soft. When carbon atoms are introduced, they fit into the gaps between the larger iron atoms, disrupting the regular lattice. This distortion makes it much more difficult for the layers of iron atoms to slide, resulting in a material that is significantly harder and stronger. Steel is critically important because it provides immense structural strength at a relatively low cost, enabling the construction of modern buildings, vehicles, machinery, and countless other essential items.
6. What makes an alloy like Duralumin suitable for aircraft while stainless steel is used for cutlery?
The suitability of an alloy for a specific job depends on its unique properties. Duralumin, an alloy of aluminium, copper, and other elements, is used for aircraft because its primary property is a high strength-to-weight ratio. It is very strong but also very light, which is essential for minimising fuel consumption and enabling flight. On the other hand, stainless steel, an alloy of iron, chromium, and nickel, is chosen for cutlery because its defining properties are hardness, durability, and exceptional corrosion resistance. It can withstand repeated washing and contact with acidic foods without rusting or staining, a property that is more important than being lightweight for this application.
7. Besides strength and corrosion resistance, what other properties can be improved by making an alloy?
While increasing strength and preventing corrosion are common reasons for alloying, many other properties can be specifically engineered. These include:
- Melting Point: Alloys can be designed to have a lower melting point than their constituent metals, as seen in solder, used for joining electronic components.
- Magnetism: Some alloys are created for specific magnetic properties. For example, Alnico (aluminium, nickel, cobalt) is used to make powerful permanent magnets.
- Shape Memory: Certain alloys like Nitinol (nickel, titanium) have shape memory. They can be deformed and will return to their original shape when heated. This is used in medical stents and eyeglass frames.
- Wear Resistance: Alloys can be made extremely hard to resist abrasion and wear, which is useful for machine tools and bearings.
