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zinc

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zinc

Hard, brittle, bluish-white, metallic element, atomic number 30, relative atomic mass 65.37. The principal ore is sphalerite or zinc blende (zinc sulphide, ZnS). Zinc is hardly affected by air or moisture at ordinary temperatures; its chief uses are in alloys such as brass, in coating metals (for example, galvanized iron), and in making batteries. Its compounds include zinc oxide, used in ointments (as an astringent) and cosmetics, paints, glass, and printing ink.

Zinc is an essential trace element in most animals; adult humans have 2–3 g/0.07–0.1 oz of zinc in their bodies. There are more than 300 known enzymes that contain zinc.

Zinc has been used as a component of brass since the Bronze Age, but it was not recognized in Europe as a separate metal until the 16th century. It was isolated in 1746 by German chemist Andreas Sigismund Marggraf (1709–1782). The name derives from the shape of the crystals on smelting.
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There was no water in the bared and burning bars of the river to reflect the vertical sun, but under its direct rays one or two tinned roofs and corrugated zinc cabins struck fire, a few canvas tents became dazzling to the eye, and the white wooded corral of the stage office and hotel insupportable.
Devil's Ford by Harte, Bret View in context
She called Raoul to come quite close to her and they walked side by side along the zinc streets, in the leaden avenues; they looked at their twin shapes in the huge tanks, full of stagnant water, where, in the hot weather, the little boys of the ballet, a score or so, learn to swim and dive.
The Phantom of the Opera by Leroux, Gaston View in context
If Sir Percival and the Count sat and smoked to-night, as I had seen them sitting and smoking many nights before, with their chairs close at the open window, and their feet stretched on the zinc garden seats which were placed under the verandah, every word they said to each other above a whisper (and no long conversation, as we all know by experience, can be carried on IN a whisper) must inevitably reach my ears.
The Woman in White by Collins, Wilkie View in context
 
 
 
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