Bronze


At a Glance

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. Sometimes trace amounts of other metals are present as well, and the mix can vary significantly. 6% tin “mild bronze” was hammered to make Bronze Age armor and helmets, while 10% tin “classic bronze” was used for casting edged weapons. 23% tin “bell metal” is used to make high-quality bells, but saxophones made of “phosphor bronze” might have as little as 3.5% tin.

Bronze coins, the most likely source of bronze in a D&D campaign, probably have 4-5% tin but this can vary too.

The melting point of copper is 1085 °C, or 1984 °F. Tin, on the other hand, melts at 232 °C (450 °F). So how well a bronze object stands up to heat depends heavily on the mix… and how well the metals are mixed. For context, a candle burns at up to 1300 °C (reports vary), so a bronze object held in open flame may start to melt.

Copper is 8940 kg/m3, or about 1/3 lb/in3. Tin has almost 20% less mass, so the mixture of metals makes a difference in calculating the mass of an object. That said, the difference is very small for small objects.


Sources

Passing Mention
Other Resources

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