Tin is easily processed due to its ductility and malleability, and gives anti-corrosion properties to alloys. However, it is almost never used in its pure form. The reason for this is the so-called "tin plague". Metal literally "gets sick" in the cold and turns into powder. Scientists were not immediately able to explain such a strange phenomenon. It turned out that the reason for the destruction of tin is a change in its crystal structure and a sharp decrease in density, due to which the plastic metal turns into an amorphous mass.
Physical properties of tin
The fact is that this substance can exist in various allotropic modifications, depending on the ambient temperature. Thus, “white tin” (beta modification with a tetragonal crystal lattice) is stable at temperatures above 13.2 ° C and below 161 ° C. At lower temperatures, "white" tin begins to gradually turn into "gray" (alpha modification with a cubic lattice). Moreover, the transition is accelerated when its grains hit the surface of the "healthy" metal. Such grains play the role of crystallization centers around which gray spots appear (that's why the phenomenon was called "plague"). The most intense destruction of tin occurs at temperatures of -33 ° C and below. It is noticed that even minor impurities of other chemical elements dramatically slow down the process of such a transformation.
Was there a connection between the death of Napoleon's army and the "tin plague"
There is an assumption that Napoleon's army suffered from it, which had to face terrible frosts in Russia. Despite the fact that the uniforms, made of thick cloth, protected well from the cold, the French froze, as the "tin plague" destroyed the buttons. However, most likely, it was just a "bike".
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Historians say that, according to the fashion of that time, the uniforms fit the figure, that is, the buttons had to withstand a fairly large load. It is unlikely that they were made of pure tin, which did not have sufficient mechanical strength. The button feet, made of pure metal, would have shattered the very first time the uniforms were donned. In addition, the French sewed buttons on the form with the color not of silver, but of gold, since they decorated it more. Fasteners for soldiers' uniforms were made of copper or brass, which had a golden hue and was durable. Buttons made of white metal were sewn only on the uniforms of cavalrymen.
Napoleon's army flees Russia in 1812.
Real facts about the destructive effect of the "tin plague"
In 1868, Academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences K. Fritzsche (chemist and naturalist) presented a report on the transformation into gray powder of tin buttons and bowlers that were in stocks in army warehouses.
Such cases have been reported on several occasions. One of the storekeepers almost suffered because of this, as he was accused of stealing state property.
Once from Holland to Moscow, bars of tin were delivered by train, and when the freight cars were opened, it turned out that only heaps of gray powder remained in them.
Tin turned into * dust *.
At the Nerchinsk mines, due to severe frosts, all tin bowls and spoons deteriorated.
The "Plague" destroyed a valuable collection of tin soldiers in the storerooms of the St. Petersburg Museum of Alexander Suvorov. The figurines collapsed from the cold, as the heating radiators burst in the basement of the storehouse.
In 1912, a similar phenomenon caused the death of Robert Scott's expedition, which reached the South Pole, but could not return home. People froze due to lack of fuel. Its reserves were in tanks soldered with tin, which were left in special places as they moved to the pole. Returning back, the members of the expedition found that all the fuel had flowed out through the collapsed seams.
Robert Scott's group, which froze to death due to lack of fuel, leaked through the broken tin seams.
Solving the problem with the "tin plague"
To avoid destruction and preserve all the useful properties of tin, experts have created an alloy called "pewter". It contains 93% tin, 5% antimony and 2% copper. They make dishes, household items, and various decorations from it. For example, this alloy is used to make Oscar statuettes, which are then covered with gold.