Tin:
Protons: 50
Neutrons: 69
Electrons: 50
Atomic Mass: 119
History: Tin use can be dated back to the Bronze Age (around 3000 BC), since it used in the production of bronze with copper. The earliest evidence of tin mining is from Europe, in Brittany, Cornwall, Devon, and the Iberian Peninsula. The demand for tin reached a high during the Classical times, but then decreased during the Medieval period. Cornwall was the major tin producer during the Middle Ages, however that changed after large tin deposits were found in Bolivia and East Asia. In 1956 tin producers formed the International Tin Council to regulate the production of tin. Tin was once used to wrap food and drugs, but was replaced by aluminum foil (hence the term “tin foil”). Although many items are called “tin” they are now actually used with steel or aluminum.
Characteristics: Tin is a silvery white metal that has a distorted diamond structure. It combines well with iron, and has 10 stable isotopes. In nature, it is rarely found free but as tin dioxide with mineral cassiterate. Tin can be reduced with coal. It does not appear to be an expensive metal, and its replacements could be due to a lack of it. It is found and mined mainly in Chinas, Malaysia, and Peru, in descending order. Tin also produces plenty of isotopes: bronze, pewter, solder (the most common use of tin), and spotted metal which is made when tin combines with lead but lead cools faster giving the metal a dappled effect.
Properties: It is very soft and malleable, and is not easily oxidized. For this reason it is used to cot other metals to prevent corrosion. It has a melting point of 232°C, and a boiling point of 2270°C.
Uses: Tin is not toxic, so it is used in food packaging. Tin salts, which are toxic, are used to spray on glass for electrically conductive coatings. Molten is used to help produce float glass, which is used in windows. The most common tin salt, stannous fluoride, is used in toothpaste. Tin chloride is used in dying textiles and increasing the weight of silk. Also, tin replaces lead in some fishing weights.
Tin Cycle:
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