(L. stannum) Known to the ancients. Found mainly as tin oxide. The main source of tin is casserite (SnO2). A relatively inert metal, it is used extensively to plate steel, making "tin cans". Usually considered a metal, tin exists in a nonmetallic form (alpha, gray) stable below 13 degrees C. The conversion was first noted as growths on organ pipes in ancient European cathedrals, where it was thought to be the devils work, speculated to be microorganisms and called "tin plague" or "tin disease".
-- part contents for background part 23
----- text -----
silvery-white metal, malleable, somewhat ductile, transition metal, low melting point, normal tin is white (beta), also exists in a nonmetallic gray form (alpha)
-- part contents for background part 24
----- text -----
used as a protective plating for steel, alloying, possible superconductive alloying, frost-free windshields