Brass at Warmley. By the mid-to-late 18th century developments in cheaper zinc distillation such as John-Jaques Dony's horizontal furnaces in Belgium and the reduction of tariffs on zinc as well as demand for corrosion-resistant high zinc alloys increased the popularity of speltering and as a result cementation was largely abandoned by the mid-19th century. Brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve varying mechanical and electrical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other within the same crystal structure. In contrast, bronze is an alloy
Post-transition metal (MH 2.25) and brittle semi-metallic element. It is commonly regarded as a metalloid, or by some authors either as a metal or a non-metal. Tellurium has a polyatomic (CN 2) hexagonal crystalline structure. It is a semiconductor with a band gap of 0.32 to 0.38 eV. Tellurium forms covalent bonds with most other elements, noting it has an extensive organometallic chemistry and that many tellurides can be regarded as metallic alloys. The common oxide of tellurium (TeO) is amphoteric. Tellurium forms a series of anionic tellurites and tellurates such as NaTeO, NaTeO, and RbTeO (the last containing tetrahedral and trigonal