Who Discovered Tin?

Tin has been around since the formation of the Earth and it was used during the Bronze Age, starting around 3000 B. C. Tin is found in cassiterite (tin dioxide), and tannic oxide is found with feldspar, mica, or quartz. It must be extracted from the ore through smelting which is heating to extract the ore. That process is expensive, but tin has become much more useful when added to another metal (alloy) or used to protect a metal. Tin is not easily oxidized, so it is used to coat metals to keep them from rusting or corroding. Tin is not easily affected by sea water, soft tap water, or weak acids.

The word tin has its origin in the Anglo Saxon language and the Latin name for it is stannum. Its symbol on the periodic chart is Sn. It is a soft, silver white metal. The first metals to be discovered and used by ancient man were gold, copper, silver, and lead. Tin, iron and mercury followed. These seven metals are considered the Metals of Antiquity and civilization was based on these. 

The earliest bronze had a small amount of arsenic or tin in it. That may have been unintentional, but it was soon found that tin added to metals, especially copper, made it stronger and easier to cast. So combining tin and copper made bronze.

This helped bring metalworking from the Copper Age into the Bronze Age. These seven metals were used in ancient times by the Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Romans, and Greeks. The first two metals to be widely used were gold and copper. Gold was mainly made into jewelry, and copper was used for tools, weapons, and chisels, in addition to bracelets and rings.  

Uses of Tin

Besides making bronze, it is widely used to coat metals, so that has made it indispensable.  40% of tin is used in making tinplate and 90% of tinplate goes in to making tin cans. Tin cans are only tin-coated steel or other metal and are used to hold food, beer, soft drinks, motor oil, paint, polishes, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and detergents.

Tin plate is also used in making signs, batteries, and toys. Stannous chloride (tin chloride) is used in dyeing fabric and to increase the weight of silk.  Some toothpaste contains stannous fluoride.

Another major use of tin is in electroplating. Tin chemicals are used in making electrolytes, and in the anodes, for coating different kinds of products. High quality electroplating uses alkaline tin plating electrolytes.  

Tin Alloys

Today tin is widely used for soldering as it bonds with many metals at temperatures below their melting points. Soldering melds together the side seams of cans, and is used in sheet metal work and plumbing.

It is also in the body and radiator of your automobile. Organ pipes are made of a tin-lead alloy. Pewter is tin, antimony, and copper. An alloy made with tin, copper, and antimony is a hard compound, creating an alloy used to make ball bearings. Storage-battery grids are made from an alloy of tin, lead and calcium.

Amalgams in dentistry are made of silver, mercury, tin, and sometimes zinc and copper. In dental restoration, a small amount of tin is added to the gold alloy to help it bond better with the porcelain.     

Health Effects of Tin

Tin is very dangerous for humans. Tin bonds with organic substances and that is bad for our bodies. Humans can absorb tin through breathing, eating, and absorbing it through the skin. Effects include:

• Dizziness
• Headaches
• Eye and skin irritations
• Severe sweating
• Urination problems
• Breathlessness
• Stomach aches

More severe effects include: liver damage, damage to chromosomes, depression, brain damage, weakening of the immune system, and red blood cells shortage.  

Tin in the Environment

Tin is practically non-biodegradable; in other words organic tin can stay in the environment for a very long time. It is toxic to anything living, and causes damage to aquatic ecosystems. It can interfere with reproduction, growth, and feeding patterns of aquatic organisms. The organic tin compounds accumulate in the upper part of the ocean. In spite of this, tin is used in the manufacture of many things, including paint, plastics, and pesticides.