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• What is an alloy? An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal (heat treatment) history. Alloys usually have different properties from those of the component elements.

Alloy constituents are usually measured by mass. Alloys are usually classified as substitutional or interstitial alloys, depending on the atomic arrangement that forms the alloy. They can be further classified as homogeneous, consisting of a single phase, heterogeneous, consisting of two or more phases, or intermetallic, where there is no distinct boundary between phases

Examples:

• Bronze (tin, aluminium or other element)

• Aluminium bronze (aluminium) • Arsenical bronze • Florentine bronze (aluminium or tin) • Gunmetal (tin, zinc) • Glucydur • Phosphor bronze (tin and phosphorus) • Ormolu (Gilt Bronze) (zinc) • Speculum metal (tin)
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1. Steel

Composition: (Iron and other metals such as carbon)
Properties: Hard, Less Ductile & have high Tensile Strength.
Applications:
Steel is used widely in the construction of roads, railways, other infrastructure, appliances, and buildings. Most large modern structures, such as stadiums and skyscrapers, bridges, and airports, are supported by a steel skeleton. Even those with a concrete structure will employ steel for reinforcing. In addition, it sees widespread use in major appliances and cars. Despite growth in usage of aluminium, it is still the main material for car bodies. Steel is used in a variety of other construction materials, such as bolts, nails, andscrews.[58] Other common applications include shipbuilding, pipeline transport, mining, offshore construction, aerospace, white goods(e.g. washing machines), heavy equipment such as bulldozers, office furniture, steel wool, tools, and armour in the form of personal vests or vehicle armour (better known as rolled homogeneous armour in this role). 2. Solder

Composition: (Tin, Lead and Other Metals)
Properties: High Melting Point & High Density.
Applications:
• Solder is used in plumbing, in electronics and metalwork from flashing to jewelry.

• Solder provides reasonably permanent but reversible connections between copper pipes in plumbing systems as well as joints in sheet metal objects such as food cans, roof flashing, rain gutters and automobile radiators.

• Jewelry components, machine tools and some refrigeration and plumbing components are often assembled and repaired by the higher temperature silver soldering process. Small mechanical parts are often soldered or brazed as well. Soldering is also used to join leadcame and copper foil in stained glass work. It can also be used as a semi-permanent patch for a leak in a container or cooking vessels. Electronic soldering connects electrical wiring and electronic components to printed circuit boards (PCBs).

3.BRASS
Composition: (Copper & Zinc)

Properties: Malleable & Sonorous
Applications:
Brass is used in instruments, coins, and many varied fixtures such as doorknobs, bolts, etc. Brass is also used to decorate many household items such as clocks and mirrors. During the medieval and ancient times, brass was used to decorate armor as well as forge cannons. Steel was used in cannons upon its discovery.

4.BRONZE
Composition: (Copper & Tin)
Properties: Hard & Brittle
Applications:
Bronze was especially suitable for use in boat and ship fittings prior to the wide employment of stainless steel owing to its combination of toughness and resistance to salt water corrosion. Bronze is still commonly used in ship propellers and submerged bearings. It is also widely used for cast bronze sculpture. Many common bronze alloys have the unusual and very desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling in the finest details of a mold. Bronze parts are tough and typically used for bearings, clips, connectors and springs.

5.NICHROME
Composition: (Nickel & Chromium)
Properties: High electrical resistivity & Resistance to oxidation.
Applications:
Nichrome is widely used in electric heating elements, such as in hair dryers, electric ovens, soldering iron, toasters, and even electronic cigarettes. Typically, Nichrome is wound in coils to a certain electrical resistance, and current is passed through to produce heat. Nichrome is used in the explosives and fireworks industry as a bridgewire in electric ignition systems, such as electric matches and model rocket igniters.Industrial and hobby hot wire foam cutters use nichrome wire. Nichrome wire is commonly used in ceramics as an internal support structure to help some elements of clay sculptures hold their shape while they are still soft. Nichrome wire is used because of its ability to withstand the high temperatures that occur when clay work is fired in a kiln.Nichrome wire can be used as an alternative to platinum wire for flame testing by colouring the non-luminous part of a flame to detect cations such as sodium, potassium, copper, calcium etc.The alloy tends to be expensive due to its high nickel content. Distributor pricing is typically indexed to commodity market prices for nickel.Other areas of usage include motorcycle silencers, in certain areas in the microbiological lab apparatus, and as the heating element of plastic extruders by the RepRap 3D printing community.For heating, resistance wire must be stable in air when hot. Nichrome wire forms a protective layer of chromium oxide.

6.MANGANIN
Composition: (Copper, Manganese & Nickel)
Properties: High Resistivity & High Melting Point.
Applications:
Manganin foil and wire is used in the manufacture of resistors, particularly ammeter shunts, because of its virtually zero temperature coefficient of resistance value and long term stability. Several Manganin resistors served as the legal standard for the ohm in the United States from 1901 to 1990. Manganin wire is also used as an electrical conductor in cryogenic systems, minimizing heat transfer between points which need electrical connections.

Manganin is also used in gauges for studies of high-pressure shock waves (such as those generated from the detonation of explosives) because it has low strain sensitivity but high hydrostatic pressure sensitivity.

7.PEWTER
Composition: (Tin, Copper, Antimony, Bismuth & Lead)
Properties: Lustrous & Have Low Melting Point.
Applications:
Pewter items are often found in churches. Use of pewter was common from the Middle Ages until the various developments in glass-making during the 18th and 19th centuries. Pewter was the chief tableware until the making of porcelain. Pewter is also used for many other items including porringers, plates, dishes, basins, spoons, measures, flagons, communion cups, teapots, sugar bowls, beer steins and cream jugs.

Today, pewter is used in decorative objects, mainly collectible statuettes and figurines, game figures, aircraft and other models, (replica) coins, pendants and so on. Certain athletic contests, such as the United States Figure Skating Championships, award pewter medals to the fourth place finishers.

8.STAINLESS STEEL
Composition: (Iron, Carbon & chromium)
Properties: Corossion-Resistant & Highly Resistive to Oxidation
Applications:
Stainless steel’s resistance to corrosion and staining, low maintenance and familiar lustre make it an ideal material for many applications. There are over 150 grades of stainless steel, of which fifteen are most commonly used. The alloy is milled into coils, sheets, plates, bars, wire, and tubing to be used in cookware, cutlery, hardware, surgical instruments, major appliances, industrial equipment (for example, in sugar refineries) and as an automotive and aerospace structural alloy and construction material in large buildings.
Stainless steel is used for jewelry and watches with 316L being the type commonly used for such applications. It can be re-finished by any jeweler and will not oxidize or turn black.

Some firearms incorporate stainless steel components as an alternative to blued or parkerized steel. Some handgun models, such as the Smith & Wesson Model 60 and the Colt M1911 pistol, can be made entirely from stainless steel. This gives a high-luster finish similar in appearance to nickel plating. Unlike plating, the finish is not subject to flaking, peeling, wear-off from rubbing (as when repeatedly removed from a holster), or rust when scratched.