Traditional metal working in Mexico one in silver, which represented the sun and moon respectively. The existence of gold and silver in Mexico was one of the main attractions for the Spanish in the New World, with the conquest of the Aztec Empire and subsequent exploration with the aim of finding more of these precious metals. Mining and metal working became a main aspect of the economy of colonial Mexico. Most of the emphasis was on the mining of gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, platinum and tin with much of the metal, especially gold, shipped to Spain. Initially, the working of metals in the new
Metal-induced embrittlement Metal-induced embrittlement Metal-induced embrittlement (MIE) is the embrittlement caused by diffusion of metal, either solid or liquid, into the base material. Metal induced embrittlement occurs when metals are in contact with low-melting point metals while under tensile stress. The embrittler can be either solid (SMIE) or liquid (Liquid metal embrittlement). Under sufficient tensile stress, MIE failure occurs instantaneously at temperatures just above melting point. For temperatures below the melting temperature of the embrittler, solid-state diffusion is the main transport mechanism. This occurs in the following ways: The main mechanism of transport for SMIE is surface self-diffusion of the embrittler over