Bronze deer figurine dating from between the XI and VI centuries BC, National Archaeological Museum of Sofia

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal. However, since "bronze" is a somewhat imprecise term, and historical pieces have variable compositions, in particular with an unclear boundary with brass, modern museum and scholarly descriptions of older objects increasingly use the more cautious and inclusive term "copper alloy" instead.^[1]

The word bronze is borrowed from French: bronze, itself borrowed from Italian: bronzo (compare Medieval Latin: bronzium), whose origin is unclear. It might be connected with Venetian: bronza "glowing coals", or German: Brunst "fire", but it could equally go back to, or be influenced by, the Latin name Brundisium of the city of Brindisi (aes Brundusinum, meaning "copper of Brindisi", is attested in Pliny). However, perhaps it is ultimately taken from the Persian word for brass, birinj.^[2]

History[link]

Chinese pu vessel with interlaced dragon design, Spring and Autumn Period (722 BC-481 BC)

The discovery of bronze enabled people to create metal objects which were better than previously possible. Tools, weapons, armor, and various building materials, like decorative tiles, made of bronze were harder and more durable than their stone and copper ("Chalcolithic") predecessors. Initially bronze was made out of copper and arsenic to form arsenic bronze. It was only later that tin was used, becoming the sole type of bronze in the late 3rd millennium BC. Tin bronze was superior to arsenic bronze in that the alloying process itself could more easily be controlled (as tin was available as a metal) and the alloy was stronger and easier to cast. Also, unlike arsenic, tin is not toxic.

The earliest tin-alloy bronzes date to the late 4th millennium BC in Susa (Iran) and some ancient sites in China, Luristan (Iran) and Mesopotamia (Iraq).

Copper and tin ores are rarely found together (exceptions include one ancient site in Thailand and one in Iran), so serious bronze work has always involved trade. In Europe, the major source for tin was Great Britain's deposits of ore in Cornwall, which were traded as far as Phoenicia in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Though bronze is generally harder than wrought iron, with Vickers hardness of 60–258^[3] vs. 30–80,^[4] the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age; this happened because iron was easier to find and easier to process. Bronze was still used during the Iron Age, for example officers in the Roman army had bronze swords^{[citation needed]} while foot soldiers had iron, but, for many purposes, the weaker wrought iron was found to be sufficiently strong. Archaeologists suspect that a serious disruption of the tin trade precipitated the transition. The population migrations around 1200–1100 BC reduced the shipping of tin around the Mediterranean (and from Great Britain), limiting supplies and raising prices.^[5] As ironworking improved, iron became cheaper; and as cultures advanced from wrought iron to forged iron, they learned how to make steel, which is stronger than bronze and holds a sharper edge longer.^[6]

Composition[link]

There are many different bronze alloys but modern bronze is typically 88% copper and 12% tin.^[7] Alpha bronze consists of the alpha solid solution of tin in copper. Alpha bronze alloys of 4–5% tin are used to make coins, springs, turbines and blades. Historical "bronzes" are highly variable in composition, as most metalworkers probably used whatever scrap was to hand; the metal of the 12th century English Gloucester Candlestick is bronze containing a mixture of copper, zinc, tin, lead, nickel, iron, antimony, arsenic with an unusually large amount of silver - between 22.5% in the base and 5.76% in the pan below the candle. The proportions of this mixture may suggest that the candlestick was made from a hoard of old coins. The Benin Bronzes are really brass, and the Romanesque Baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège is described as both bronze and brass.

Commercial bronze (90% copper and 10% zinc) and Architectural bronze (57% Copper, 3% Lead, 40% Zinc) are more properly regarded as brass alloys because they contain zinc as the main alloying ingredient. They are commonly used in architectural applications.^[8][9]

Bismuth bronze is a bronze alloy with a composition of 52% copper, 30% nickel, 12% zinc, 5% lead, 1% bismuth. It is able to hold a good polish and so is sometimes used in light reflectors and mirrors.^[10]

Other bronze alloys include aluminium bronze, phosphor bronze, manganese bronze, bell metal, arsenical bronze, speculum metal and cymbal alloys.

Properties[link]

Assorted ancient bronze castings

Bronze is considerably less brittle than iron. Typically bronze only oxidizes superficially; once a copper oxide (eventually becoming copper carbonate) layer is formed, the underlying metal is protected from further corrosion. However, if copper chlorides are formed, a corrosion-mode called "bronze disease" will eventually completely destroy it.^[11] Copper-based alloys have lower melting points than steel or iron, and are more readily produced from their constituent metals. They are generally about 10 percent heavier than steel, although alloys using aluminium or silicon may be slightly less dense. Bronzes are softer and weaker than steel—bronze springs, for example, are less stiff (and so store less energy) for the same bulk. Bronze resists corrosion (especially seawater corrosion) and metal fatigue more than steel and is a better conductor of heat and electricity than most steels. The cost of copper-base alloys is generally higher than that of steels but lower than that of nickel-base alloys.

Copper and its alloys have a huge variety of uses that reflect their versatile physical, mechanical, and chemical properties. Some common examples are the high electrical conductivity of pure copper, the excellent deep drawing qualities of cartridge case brass, the low-friction properties of bearing bronze, the resonant qualities of bell bronze, and the resistance to corrosion by sea water of several bronze alloys.

The melting point of Bronze varies depending on the actual ratio of the alloy components and is about 950 °C (1,742 °F).

Bronze is nonmagnetic.

Uses[link]

Ewer from 7th century Iran. Cast, chased, and inlaid bronze. New York Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bronze was especially suitable for use in boat and ship fittings prior to the wide employment of stainless steel owing to its combination of toughness and resistance to salt water corrosion. Bronze is still commonly used in ship propellers and submerged bearings.

In the twentieth century, silicon was introduced as the primary alloying element, creating an alloy with wide application in industry and the major form used in contemporary statuary. Sculptors may prefer silicon bronze because of the ready availability of silicon bronze brazing rod, which allows color-matched repair of defects in castings. Aluminium is also used for the structural metal aluminium bronze.

It is also widely used for cast bronze sculpture. Many common bronze alloys have the unusual and very desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling in the finest details of a mold. Bronze parts are tough and typically used for bearings, clips, electrical connectors and springs.

Spring bronze weatherstripping comes in rolls of thin sheets and is nailed or stapled to wood windows and doors. There are two types, flat and v-strip. It has been used for hundreds of years because it has low friction, seals well and is long lasting. It is used in building restoration and custom construction.

Bronze also has very low metal-on-metal friction, which made it invaluable for the building of cannon where iron cannonballs would otherwise stick in the barrel.^{[citation needed]} It is still widely used today for springs, bearings, bushings, automobile transmission pilot bearings, and similar fittings, and is particularly common in the bearings of small electric motors. Phosphor bronze is particularly suited to precision-grade bearings and springs. It is also used in guitar and piano strings.

Unlike steel, bronze struck against a hard surface will not generate sparks, so it (along with beryllium copper) is used to make hammers, mallets, wrenches and other durable tools to be used in explosive atmospheres or in the presence of flammable vapors.

Bronze is used to make bronze wool for woodworking applications where steel wool would discolor oak.

Bronze statues[link]

Indian Hindu artisans from the period of the Chola empire in Tamil Nadu, used bronze to create intricate statues via the lost wax casting method with ornate detailing depicting the Gods of Hinduism mostly, but also the lifestyle of the period. The art form survives to this day, with many silpis, craftsmen, working in the areas of Swamimalai and Chennai.

In antiquity other cultures also produced works of high art using bronze. For example: in Africa, the bronze heads of the Kingdom of Benin; in Europe, Grecian bronzes typically of figures from Greek mythology; in east Asia, Chinese bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasty — more often ceremonial vessels but including some figurine examples.

Bronze continues into modern times as one of the materials of choice for monumental statuary.

Musical instruments[link]

Bronze is the most popular metal for top-quality bells, particularly bell metal, which is about 23% tin.

Nearly all professional cymbals are made from a bronze alloy. The alloy used in drum kit cymbal bronze is unique in the desired balance of durability and timbre.

Modern cymbals consist of several types of bronze, the most common being B20 bronze, which is roughly 20% tin, 80% copper, with traces of silver. Zildjian and Sabian use this alloy for their professional lines. A Swiss company, Paiste, uses a tougher B8 bronze which is made from 8% tin and 92% copper in the majority of their cymbals. Zildjian and Sabian use this metal too, in their budget priced cymbals. Paiste also use a secret Bronze alloy in their top-end cymbal ranged, thought to be B12 or B14, adding brightness without much compromise on strength^{[citation needed]}

As the tin content in a bell or cymbal rises, the timbre drops.^[12] As well as B8 and B20, Meinl Percussion uses B10 (10% tin) and B12 (12% tin) alloys for cymbals, which have timbres roughly between B8 and B20.^[13]

Bronze is also used for the windings of steel and nylon strings of various stringed instruments such as the double bass, piano, harpsichord, and the guitar.. Bronze strings are commonly reserved on pianoforte for the lower pitch tones, as they possess a superior sustain quality to that of high-tensile steel.^[14]

Bronzes of various metallurgical properties are widely used in struck idiophones around the world, notably bells, singing bowls, gongs, cymbals and other idiophones from Asia. Examples include Tibetan singing bowls, temple bells of many sizes and shapes, gongs, Javanese gamelan and other bronze musical instruments. The earliest bronze archeological finds in Indonesia date from 1–2 BCE, including flat plates probably suspended and struck by a wooden or bone mallet.^[14][15] Ancient bronze drums from Thailand and Vietnam date back 2,000 years. Bronze bells from Thailand and Cambodia date back to 3,600 BCE.

Some companies are now making saxophones from phosphor bronze (3.5 to 10% tin and up to 1% phosphorus content). Bell Bronze is used to make the tone rings of many professional model banjos. The tone ring is a heavy(usually 3 lbs.) folded or arched metal ring attached to a thick wood rim, over which a skin, or most often, a plastic membrane(or head)is stretched-it is the bell bronze that gives the banjo a crisp powerful lower register and clear, bell-like treble register-especially in bluegrass music.

Medals[link]

A large bronze cast medallion, some 9.5 by 8.7 centimetres in measurement, created by the celebrated medalist Valerio Belli in the sixteenth century.

Bronze has been used in the manufacture of various types of medals for centuries, and are known in contemporary times for being awarded to the second-runner up in sporting competitions and other events. The later usage was in part attributed to the choices of Gold, Silver and Bronze to represent the first three Ages of Man in Greek mythology: the Golden Age, when men lived among the gods; the Silver age, where youth lasted a hundred years; and the Bronze Age, the era of heroes, and was first adopted at the 1904 Summer Olympics. At the 1896 event, silver was awarded to winners and bronze to runners-up, while at 1900 other prizes were given, not medals.

See also[link]

Fragment of the grave of Cyprian Kamil Norwid in the Bards' crypt in Wawel Cathedral, Kraków, Poland by sculptor Czesław Dźwigaj

• List of copper alloys
• Art object
• Bronze medal
• Bronze sculpture
• Bronzing
• Chinese bronze inscriptions‎
• French Empire mantel clock
• Seagram Building
• DZR Dezincification Resistant Brass
• UNS C69100

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bronze

Look up bronze in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Bronze.

• Bronze bells
• "Lost Wax, Found Bronze": lost-wax casting explained
• "Flash animation of the lost-wax casting process". James Peniston Sculpture. http://www.jepsculpture.com/bronze.html. Retrieved 2008-11-03. 
• Viking Bronze - Ancient and Early Medieval bronze casting

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (January 2008)

Simon Francis Dumont (born July 9, 1986) is a U.S. freestyle skier.

Dumont in 2010

Medal record
Competitor for the  United States
Men's Freestyle skiing
FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships
Bronze	2011 Deer Valley	Halfpipe
Winter X Games
Gold	2004 Aspen	Superpipe
Gold	2005 Aspen	Superpipe
Gold	2009 Aspen	Big Air
Gold	2009 Fairmont	Railjam
Silver	2007 Aspen	Superpipe
Silver	2008 Aspen	Superpipe
Bronze	2009 Aspen	Superpipe
Bronze	2011 Aspen	Superpipe

Skiing[link]

Dumont is notable as one of the best freestyle skiers in the world today.^{[citation needed]} He is known for his amplitude in half-pipe competitions, airing easily up to 20 feet out of the pipe, and doing superman double fronts. Dumont had a rough season in 2006-07 when he overshot a 100-foot jump in Park City, Utah, by some eighty feet, landing flat, rupturing his spleen and breaking his pelvis in three places, although he was back up and skiing two months later.^{[citation needed]} In 2009 he also won the X Games Big Air competition stomping a double front flip.^{[citation needed]}

He has participated in many freestyle events, mostly big air and half-pipe, and was part of Team America for the Jon Olsson Super Sessions (JOSS) along with American freestyle skiers Tom Wallisch, and Alex Schlopy. They have withdrawn from all future JOSS events because of an argument with Olsson about the release date of their video for JOSS.

In 2008, Jon Olsson and Dumont announced their involvement in a new open freeskiing event, the North American Open, at Breckenridge, Colorado. He also participates in Jon Olsson's Super Sessions competition where skiers from each country compete to try to make the best ski video (JOSS).

He was added to the US Freestyle ski team for the men's superpipe in the 2014 Winter Olympics. «»=== World quarterpipe record === On April 11, 2008, Simon Dumont set the current world quarter-pipe height record at Sunday River in Bethel, Maine. He aired 35.5 feet out of a 38-foot quarter-pipe, while performing a cork 900 tail grab.^[1] Previous attempts earlier in the week had resulted in Dumont falling 55 feet after hitting an over-vert section of the quarter-pipe. On other various attempts, Simon hit the snow with a flat landing, severely bruising his heel in the process. On April 22, 2008, Dumont was a guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show where he discussed his record-setting performance.

Dumont Cup[link]

On April 11, 2009, Dumont hosted what was called the inaugural occasion of an annual contest for skiers ranging in age from about 8 to 18 at Sunday River.^[2] A specific course was set out for the contest with a combination of rails, boxes, and jumps. All entrants had a chance to qualify for the final few runs with pro skiers like Dumont, with a chance to win a spot on the podium. The first-place prize was $10,000,^{[citation needed]} won by American freestyle skier Tom Wallisch.

The second edition of the Dumont Cup was held on March 27, 2010, and was won by amateur freeskier Alex Schlopy. Schlopy out-skied 105 amateur athletes to gain entry into today's semi-finals and finals. During finals, Schlopy and nine others competed against such freeski professionals as Simon Dumont, Peter Olenick, Jossi Wells, and Henrik Harlaut. Schlopy was joined on the podium with Joss Christianson from Park City, Utah who took second place and the 2009 winner of the first-ever Dumont Cup, Tom Wallisch from Salt Lake City, Utah, who took third. Schlopy walked away with $12,000 in cash plus a one-week scholarship to Camp Woodward, an action sports camp and training facility located in Woodward, Penn.

On March 26, 2011 Dumont hosted the 3rd Dumont Cup, changing up the course from the previous years. Nick Goepper got first followed by Gus Kensworthy and Jacob Wester in second and third.

Auto racing[link]

On April 25th, 2009, Simon participated in the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup season opening race at Virginia International Raceway as a guest driver in the Red Bull-sponsored #10.^[3] Qualifying 25th, he moved up six positions to finish 19th in the 30-minute race. After his performance, Simon commented on a possible future in road racing, saying:

"The entire experience was way more than I ever imagined that it would be. The first time for me to get in a professional-level racecar was yesterday, and I'm definitely hooked," said Dumont. "My goal heading into this was to try to be competitive and not finish last, and I accomplished both goals. I'm going to do some work with my personal sponsors when I get home to see if I might be able to give the series a try full time next year."^[4]

Simon also expressed interest in racing full time after retiring from skiing.^[3]

Personal[link]

Dumont was born in Bethel, Maine on July 9th, 1986, to Francis and Barbara Dumont. Simon has an older brother, a younger sister, and a multitude of cousins. Dumont weighs 150 lbs. and is 5'7" tall.^[5]

He attended Telstar Regional High School in Bethel, where he graduated in 2004. He was a participant in the school's golf program as well as a star soccer player. His home ski resort is Sunday River. Simon also was a child model, and at one point even auditioned for Home Alone three.

Business[link]

Simon's sponsors include: Target^[6], Oakley, Toyota, Nike 6.0, Red Bull, Giro, Kicker, Head skis, Sunday River Ski Resort.^{[citation needed]}

Dumont opened up his own clothing company, Empire Attire, in 2008. With his own company, he strives to create things "made by the athletes for the athletes." His company has been successful so far, and has their own website EmpireAttire.com. He has just recently released his line of 2010 products for purchase online. He is also a huge fan of the Boston Red Sox.

Press[link]

He was featured in the January 24, 2008, issue of Rolling Stones article on the X Games:

He first became recognized at the X Games when he was fifteen. At sixteen he competed in Honda Sessions at Vail Resort in Colorado. At seventeen, he won his first gold medals. At age eighteen, he was badly injured in a failed jump at Park City. The video of that crash -- he plummets eighty feet to the ground -- became an internet phenomenon. Dumont admits he's lucky to be alive. He fractured his pelvis and ruptured his spleen, but just six weeks later he returned to the slopes. Dumont, now 23, figures he's got 3 years of freestyle left in him. "Then I'd like to go backcountry and start landing in powder," he says, "it doesn't hurt so much."^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

Simon Shreds Interview with Simon Dumont in The Ski Journal, issue 2.4 (requires subscription)

SimonDumont.com Simon Dumont's official website.

[1] Information on the World Record Quarterpipe jump