Читать книгу Henley's Formulas, Recipes and Processes (Applied Chemistry) - Various - Страница 204

—The alloys of copper and iron are little used in the industries of the present day, but it would seem that in earlier times they were frequently prepared for the purpose of giving a considerable degree of hardness to copper; for in antique casts, consisting principally of copper, we regularly find large quantities of iron, which leads to the supposition that they were added intentionally.

These alloys, when of a certain composition, have considerable strength and hardness. With an increase in the quantity of the iron the hardness increases, but the solidity is lessened. A copper and iron alloy of considerable strength, and at the same time very hard, is made of copper, 66 parts; iron, 34. These alloys acquire, on exposure to air, an ugly color inclining toward black, and are therefore not adapted for articles of art.