Define Alloy? Types of Important Alloys - General Knowledge

An alloy is a mixture of two or more metals. Alloys are normally made to give a particular metal a feature that it does not have in its natural state. For instance, copper in its natural state is very soft; however, copper alloys help the metal toughen and thus give it the ability to retain its shape.  Alloys are usually synthetic materials, developed by scientists for special purposes. They generally have specially desirable properties quite different from the metals from which they are made.

Alloy	Composition	Uses
Babbitt metal	tin: 90%	used in bearings because of its low measure of fricti with steel
	antimony: 7%
	copper: 3%
bell metal	copp 77%	casting of bells
	tin : 23%
brass	Cu(60% to 80%), Zn (40 to 20%)	inexpensive jewelry; hose nozzles and couplings; piping; stamping dies
bronze	copper with up 12% tin	coins and medals; heavy gears; tools; electrical hardware
Coin metal	copper: 75%	U.S. coins
	nickel
duralumin	aluminum: 95%	aircraft, boats, railroad cars, and machinery because of its high strength and resistance to corrosion
	copper: 4%
	manganese: <1%
	magnesium: 0.5%
Monel	nickel 60%	corrosion-resistant containers
	copper: 33%
	iron: 7%
Nichrome	nickel: 80-85%	heating elements in toasters, electric heaters, etc.
	chromium: 15-20%
phosphor bronze	bronze with a small amount of phosphorus	springs electrical springs, boat propellers
solder	lead: 50%	joining two metals to each other
	tin: 50%
sterling silver	silver: 92.5%	jewellery, art objects
	copper: 7.5%
Type metal	lead: 75-95%	used to make type for printing because it expands as it cools
	antimony: 2-18%
	tin: trace
German Silver	Cu (60%), Zn (25%), Ni (15%)	For making utencils
Magnelium	Mg (5%), Al (95%)	For making aircraft frame
Rolled Gold	Cu(90%), Ni (10%)	For making cheap ornaments
Gun metal	Cu (85%), Zn (10%), Sn(5%)	Used for engineering purpose
Steel	Fe (98%), C (2%)	For making nails, screws, bridges
Stainless Steel	Fe (82%) Cr, Ni (18%)	for making cooking utencils, knives