Hardware color brass and bronze differences. How to determine what is in front of us: brass or copper, their main differences

Ways to distinguish bronze and brass using a magnet, acid, heat.

Bronze and brass are common alloys used to create parts, as well as some interior items. Externally, the metals are really very similar, but there are many ways to distinguish them. In this article, we will tell you how to distinguish these metals at home.

How to distinguish bronze from brass at home in appearance?

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin; a small amount of other additives may also be present. On the other hand, brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. The ancient Romans began to use it, but then they introduced zinc ore into molten copper. It turned out to be an excellent metal, from which sculptures and statues were made. Outwardly, the metals are really very similar, but a specialist with the naked eye will be able to distinguish these two alloys. The most interesting thing is that fake coins were even made in the 19th century. After all, the color of the metal corresponds to gold.

In fact, the two metals are very similar, since the composition is predominantly copper. But impurities completely determine their properties. A mixture with tin is a favorite material for sculptors because of its durability and wear resistance. Zinc alloy is less durable and wears out quickly.

What is the difference between bronze and brass in composition?

Characteristic differences between these two metals should be expected only if they are fairly pure. But the fact is that now there are a huge number of varieties of both brass and bronze. Very often, tin is not added to bronze at all and a mixture of aluminum, beryllium and magnesium is introduced as an alloying element. Due to this, the color of the metal also changes very much. If the tin content in the metal is high enough, and reaches 40%, then its color can fluctuate up to white. That is, it resembles steel.

It gives only a slight golden hue. In general, the metal turns out to be almost silvery. Regarding brass, if there is a large amount of zinc in it, then the color of the metal is the same as that of gold. Quite often, this material is used to make a variety of jewelry and cheap jewelry. Such decorations look quite organic, pretty, and at the same time they are distinguished by a low price.

How to distinguish bronze from brass using a magnet?

• When it comes to a variety of alloys, it can be quite difficult to distinguish bronze from brass, because they can be almost identical. Many experts believe that bronze is heavier than brass. This is true and is due to the content of tin and lead, which are quite heavy.
• Brass is much lighter due to the presence of zinc. You can do a few simple experiments to find out which metal is in front of you. Almost always bronze is magnetized, due to the presence of tin in the composition.
• That is, if you bring a strong enough magnet, you will see a significant magnetization. The higher the tin content in the metal, the stronger the magnetization. Brass, in turn, does not exhibit magnetic properties, that is, when a magnet is presented, it does not stick at all.

Ways to distinguish bronze from brass by heating, filing

You can determine the type of metal by heating. However, this method is only suitable if you have your own workshop or garage. The fact is that for this experience you will need a cutting torch. Heat a sample of the intended material with a gas burner to 600 degrees.

If after that you try to bend it, then the bronze will easily break. It becomes quite brittle when heated and does not bend. Brass, in turn, bends very well and melts easily. This is due to the presence of zinc in the composition. This material is more ductile and malleable during heating than tin.

Many advise to take a hacksaw to determine the alloy, file the product a little, and pay attention to the quality of the chips that have formed. Metal with tin is sawn into tiny flakes that are brittle. That is, as a result, you will get fine dust, which is not quite like chips. This is due to the fact that bronze contains a lot of tin, which crumbles and, as it were, breaks off from the main piece of metal. Brass is sawn in a completely different way, forming layers, as well as characteristic ornate shavings.

Laboratory methods to distinguish brass from bronze

All these methods are only suitable if you want to distinguish standard brass from bronze, which contains a maximum of tin, as well as zinc. Otherwise, the tests will be quite difficult, due to the fact that there is a tin-free bronze that does not contain tin at all. Accordingly, the color of the metal will be absolutely different. Therefore, at home, it is quite difficult to find out the composition of the metal. In laboratory conditions, most often the composition is determined using spectrographic and refractometric analysis.

There are tests with nitric acid. For testing, a little shavings of alloys are poured into the container and filled with 50% nitric acid. The mixture of test tubes needs to be warmed up a little. In a test tube with brass, the alloy will dissolve and you will get a clear solution. In the container of the alloy with tin there will be a white precipitate of its salts.

Differences in the nature of the fracture and the evaluation of the finished product

Many will even say, why bother with brass or copper, if the two alloys look almost the same? But the fact is that this is important for many, in particular for people who will be engaged in the manufacture of some sculptures or remelting. Accordingly, very often a difference is required if you are going to hand over the metal for scrap.

The fact is that brass is cheaper than bronze, respectively, at the metal collection point they can simply deceive, offer a smaller amount. If the weight is small, then the losses will be negligible., butif you have a fairly large amount of goods, then you will lose a decent amount of money. It is worth noting,that there is no need to carry out tests, it is enough just to look at the finished products. Brass is almost never used in shipping.

This material, when exposed to sea salt water, is destroyed, respectively, compasses, some parts in shipbuilding are used exclusively in bronze. Therefore, if they are trying to deceive you, insist on checking the goods, or contact a certified center. They usually have reception points, as well as small compact laboratories. They can carry out quick, simple analysis, and analyze the goods on laboratory equipment.

It is quite easy to distinguish between metals when looking at a fracture. Brass breaks in rather small grains, bronze breaks off in large pieces, has a large grain size. At the same time, the color of the fracture of bronze with a reddish tint, if it is brass, then with whitish or yellowish.

Unfortunately, these methods cannot be used at home due to the lack of laboratory equipment. For home users, magnet and chip tests are available. They are also very informative.

VIDEO: How to distinguish bronze from brass?

Items made from copper alloys are very popular today. They have many external similarities. Having determined how to distinguish bronze from brass, you can correctly use products from these materials. Despite the fact that they are equally attractive in appearance, there are still a number of differences between them. First of all, it concerns their properties and chemical composition.

These metals are now widely in demand in the industrial sector. The color of brass and bronze of individual grades may be similar. However, they may differ in some of their properties. Bronze has been used by humans for thousands of years. Initially, bronze alloys were made, based on tin and copper.

The metallurgical industry gradually developed, and people learned to exchange tin for other elements, such as iron, for example, or lead. Silicon, aluminum or beryllium and phosphorus could also serve as a worthy alternative for it. Depending on what kind of basic materials were used, bronze can be

• tin;
• tinless.

Bells were cast from the first type, respectively, it was called a bell. The chemical composition of a substance can change, but this directly affects both the color of the material and its characteristics.

Zinc is the main alloying component of brass. This is a copper alloy that includes manganese, iron, tin or lead. All of these components may be present in low concentrations. They are necessary only in order to change the characteristics in one direction or another. The production of brass was known even to the inhabitants of ancient Rome. They were able to create such a material by mixing zinc and pre-molten copper.

The most efficient method of production was created in England. Scientists mixed pure zinc and molten copper. This technology was first discovered in 1781.

Brass is characterized by a golden tone. Due to its good decorative properties, it was used for a long time for the production of jewelry, which was later passed off as gold. Gradually, manufacturers managed to pay attention to other equally important parameters of brass. It turned out that it differs:

• resistance to corrosion;
• plasticity;
• abrasion resistance;
• hardness;
• strength.

That is why today, as before, it is actively used in decorative products, but the range of its use does not end there. It has excellent casting properties. Accordingly, it is possible to actively apply the material in certain industries.

Copper is the basis of both metals. But differences in properties and chemical composition force them to be used in different fields of application. Bronze is considered more durable and strong. Since ancient times, sculptures, bells, interior structures and landscape objects that make up parts of fences have been made from it.

This metal is characterized by good fluidity after melting. Accordingly, on its basis it is possible to form objects even with very complex shapes. Besides, various elements can be added to the composition of the material to change the color in a certain range, and other features. This is especially important in the manufacture of decorative products.

Brass is more ductile. It is not as resistant to mechanical damage and durable as bronze. This metal is more susceptible to aggressive components. Its structure can be damaged by the systematic exposure to sea water, and therefore it is not recommended to use it in shipbuilding.

Bronze, on the contrary, is used here successfully and quite actively.

The internal structure of these alloys also has a noticeable difference.

Structure and color

To determine if brass or bronze was used to make a piece, you can look at the alloys and their fracture. Brass is lighter in color and fine-grained in the cut. Bronze, on the other hand, has a coarse-grained structure and is distinguished by a dark brown tint.

Materials differ in a number of characteristics. These can be attributed the following features:

• The use of tin as an alloying element in bronze, and zinc in brass. In this case, the basic component of both metals is copper.
• Bronze, including those with a traditional chemical composition, copes well with aggressive components, including salty sea water.
• To give maximum corrosion resistance, additional alloying elements are introduced into the composition of brass.

Application area

Bronze is more durable. Based on it, you can create decorative elements of increased strength that can last for a long time. It is applied to various industrial sectors when it is necessary to produce reliable parts. Brass is more often used in the manufacture of metal elements with high resistance to corrosion.

Compared to copper bronze and brass have a lower melting point. This property can be used to make various products with your own hands. True, this will have to stock up on the appropriate tools and equipment. It is also important to adhere to the rules of technological operations and to study the technology of casting.

In order to answer the question, how copper differs from bronze Let us turn to the properties and origin of copper and bronze.

That is why very often copper is used in electrical wiring. At home, you can see wires made of plastic, inside of which there is a copper wire.

A very long time ago, people began to think about how to make copper tools more durable. To achieve this, man began to combine copper with various other metals. More often, people experimented by mixing copper with tin, resulting in bronze- one of the oldest alloys ever made by man.

Thus, bronze has become known to man for a long time. In different parts of the world, it was melted in its own way. So, in West Africa, scientists found 40% tin in bronze products. At that time, in Central Asia, the amount of tin in products very rarely exceeded 20%.

Nowadays, a little bit of lead and zinc are added to bronze. With these additives, it becomes more fluid and soft. Various objects can be made from this alloy, for example: sculptures, medals, and even ship propellers.

Among the oldest alloys known to people, brass and bronze are in the first place: the differences between them are significant, but their use is largely similar. It is worth mentioning that the ancient copper-containing alloys are not similar in color and composition to modern ones.

Made of bronze from the middle of the 4th century BC. e. they forged weapons and armor, made dishes, household utensils, created jewelry, minted coins and sculpted sculptures. In ancient Rome, brass coins (sestertia and dupondia) were in circulation, parts of armor, elements for decorating armor, weapons, and utensils were made from orichalcum (as the Romans called this alloy). That is why it is not always easy to understand what alloy an antique is made of, and how to distinguish bronze from brass.

Color differences of metals

Composition and features of alloys

Speaking of antique bronzes, they usually mean an alloy based on copper and tin, less often we are talking about spiater (copper + zinc and nickel), which was used as an inexpensive analogue of bronze in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In modern industrial alloys, another metal can be alloying, so bronze is divided into tin and tin-free (aluminum, beryllium, silicon-zinc, lead, etc.).

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, sometimes with the addition of tin, nickel, manganese, lead, and iron. Since the end of the 7th century, a variety of brass called “tompac” has been used for the manufacture of art products, jewelry, accessories and insignia: it contains 88-97% copper and 10-30% zinc.

Brass handle

How to distinguish them at home?

The easiest way to identify bronze is by its appearance: its surface has a reddish or dark brown tint and a coarse-grained structure, brass gives off yellowness and fine-grained in structure. However, bronze with a high tin content takes on a yellowish or almost white color, so it is easy to confuse it with brass, kopel (copper + nickel + manganese) and cupronickel (copper + nickel).

Bronze is heavier than brass, but an inexperienced person will only be able to compare them by weight if he has two objects of a certain size, known to be one of bronze and the other of brass.

You can check the metal for bending: when strongly bent, the brass bends or retains its shape, and the bronze product breaks.

• Scrape the surface with a hacksaw, and the bronze will give small loose chips. This method does not always work in relation to technical alloys, since there are "loose" grades of industrial brass and "viscous" - bronze.
• Heat the metal to 600°C (which is the temperature produced by a gas burner) and a dark film of zinc oxide will appear on the brass. It will not be on the surface of bronze.
• When heated, brass begins to bend, and the characteristics of bronze do not change. If it is possible to melt a piece of the sample, then when overheated, the brass burns with a white flame, scattering white flakes - this burns out the zinc.

Bronze figurine

The most reliable answer to the question of how to distinguish brass from bronze is the exposure to reagents. Place several shavings of each alloy in different beakers and fill with dilute nitric acid (1 part acid to 1 part water) and wait until most of them have dissolved. Heat the beaker, but do not bring to a boil, and keep it on low heat for half an hour. The liquid in the container with brass shavings will remain transparent, and a white precipitate of tin will appear in the test tube with bronze shavings.

However, even if you do not have the opportunity to immediately check the alloy from which the object is made, its purpose can tell you whether it is bronze or brass. So, a large interior sculpture is likely to be bronze or made of spiatra; brass is subject to wear and tear, so small objects or fragments are made from it. If you have an antique nautical compass in your hands, do not hesitate to determine what it is made of. Probably, this is also bronze - it is not afraid of salt water, does not rust or oxidize. To give such properties to brass, tin, aluminum or lead must be added to the alloy.

Brass and bronze have different chemical composition and properties, but the appearance of these alloys is almost identical. It is very difficult for an ordinary person who is not involved in the industrial production of alloys to distinguish bronze from brass. Therefore, it is worthwhile to figure out what properties are characteristic of these alloys, what are their differences, and how to determine which alloy the purchased item is made of.

Properties of bronze and brass

Bronze and brass are metal alloys that are made from copper. The difference between them lies in the main alloying material. This affects the physical and chemical properties of these alloys. Accordingly, the composition of bronze and brass directly affects the scope of these materials.

Bronze is an alloy based on copper with the addition of alloying materials such as tin, beryllium, silicon, aluminum and lead. Other components may also be used, such as zinc or nickel. In this case, the alloy is called spiatr, it is much cheaper, but also inferior in physical characteristics.

There are several types of bronze alloys, which differ depending on the main alloying component. To date, there are:

• tin;
• beryllium;
• silicon;
• aluminum.

There is also a classification depending on the presence of tin in the composition. Based on this, tin bronze is distinguished - an alloy of copper and tin, and tinless. There is also an arsenic type, but today it is not used in production.

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, with the possible content of other components: nickel, lead, tin, iron, manganese and others. This alloy has been known since ancient times. It was most likely developed by the Romans, who alloyed copper with zinc ore. Zinc in its pure form began to be used only at the end of the 17th century in England.

Brass is similar to gold, which is why it was often used to counterfeit gold coins.

Due to its fine-grained structure, it is widely used in industry. To date, the production of steel-brass bimetal has become popular. The finished material has increased resistance to corrosion and physical wear. At the same time, such an alloy is quite ductile and can be easily cast and physically bent.

There is a variety called tompak, which is used in artistic casting, the manufacture of accessories and insignia.

The main differences between alloys

Despite the similar appearance due to the use of copper as a base, bronze and brass have certain differences, which is justified by the addition of tin and zinc. Due to this, the scope of both materials is quite wide and varied.

Bronze is quite often used by sculptors. It is excellent for the production of monuments, sculptures, busts, fences and other artistic products. It can stand for hundreds of years without changing its shape and structure. Brass is rarely used for such purposes, due to the high ductility of this alloy, which negatively affects the durability and wear resistance of sculptures.

Because of its properties, one of which is its resistance to salty sea water, bronze has been widely used in the maritime industry in the past. In order for brass to acquire the same property, it is necessary to add alloying components such as aluminum, tin or lead.

Despite the outward similarity, there are slight differences between bronze and brass that can be seen with the naked eye. The main thing to highlight is the difference between bronze and brass in color. Bronze has a dark brown tint, while brass is lighter, resembling gold due to its yellowish tint.

The main differences between these two alloys should be highlighted:

1. Bronze is produced by fusing copper and tin, with the possible addition of various impurities. Brass is obtained by producing an alloy of copper and zinc, but, like bronze, it may contain additional components.
2. Bronze is characterized by a coarse-grained structure, brass, in turn, is fine-grained and rather smooth. You can see the structure by examining metal products at a break.
3. Bronze is dark brown, brass is yellowish.
4. Bronze is resistant to aggressive environments, while brass can be destroyed even under the influence of sea water. This is the variety of applications of alloys.
5. Products made of bronze are much stronger and heavier than brass, and also have increased wear resistance.
6. Due to its properties, bronze is used much more often in industry, but brass is used as part of the steel-brass bimetal, the properties of which exceed those of bronze.

Despite many differences, it is quite difficult to determine in everyday life what alloy the product is made of, but using several methods you can cope with this task.

How to distinguish brass from bronze at home

Very often, when buying old furniture, figurines and other items, there is a dilemma of what material they are made of. At first glance, they are no different, but with a closer look and the use of several methods of determination, it is possible to accurately determine the type of alloy.

To date, there are several ways to distinguish brass and bronze at home:

1. Eye definition. To do this, you need to have products from two alloys so that you can compare them. Taking them in hand, you can clearly determine that bronze is much heavier than brass. With good lighting and a clean surface, you can see the color of the surface in detail. Bronze is much darker and brass is yellower.
2. If you have several identical items of low value, you can damage one of them. With bronze, it is harder to do this, since it is much stronger. Having broken the object, you should look at the fracture. Brass has a fine-grained and smooth structure.
3. The most reliable way to distinguish is exposure to reagents. But for this you need to have certain equipment, experience with reagents and nitric acid.

First you need to make some metal shavings, then place them in separate test tubes and fill with a 50% solution. After most of the dissolution, the test tubes need to be heated. The liquid with brass will remain transparent, and a white precipitate of tin will appear in the liquid with bronze.

In the absence of reagents, you can use a solution of sea salt by placing shavings in it. Bronze shavings will not change in any way, and brass shavings will change their appearance.

You can also just look at the item. If the old item has not succumbed to change and destruction after many years, then it is most likely bronze, since it is much more resistant to external influences and less prone to wear.