Tin pest related problems such as tin whiskers. At 13.2 °C (about 56 °F) and below, pure tin transforms from the silvery, ductile metallic allotrope of β-form "white tin" to the brittle, nonmetallic, α-form "grey tin" with a diamond cubic structure. The transformation is slow to initiate due to a high activation energy but the presence of germanium (or crystal structures of similar form and size) or very low temperatures of roughly −30 °C aids the initiation. There is also a large volume increase of about 27% associated with the phase change to the nonmetallic low temperature allotrope. This frequently makes tin
Ballad of a Tin Man Man" was published in the United States by Post Hill Press on September 12, 2017(). John D. Kuhns is an author, artist, businessman and investment banker, known for renewable and alternative energy investments around the world. Ballad of a Tin Man Ballad of a Tin Man is a 2017 novel by John D. Kuhns. The book is based on actual events which took place during Kuhns’ career during the late 1980s. The book finds Jack Davis, the protagonist in this novel as well as Kuhns’s earlier novel China Fortunes, down-and-out. His investment banking business is going nowhere, and his girlfriend