speculum metal
any of several bronze alloys with a high tin content, often containing other materials, as silver, brass, lead, zinc, or arsenic, used for making mirrors and reflectors.
Origin of speculum metal
1- Also called speculum, speculum alloy.
Words Nearby speculum metal
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use speculum metal in a sentence
Mr. Edwards, in the Nautical Almanack for 1787, gave the following instructions for making speculum metal.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines | Andrew UreThey are made of speculum metal, of various forms and sizes, but always portable.
Magic, Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions Including Trick Photography | Albert A. HopkinsBell-metal, gun-metal, and speculum-metal are mere varieties of bronze.
The specula are made of speculum metal, which is a composition of certain proportions of copper and tin.
Popular Technology; Volume 2 | Edward HazenFurnaces for the speculum metal were built, stands erected, and the 40-foot telescope fairly begun.
Pioneers of Science | Oliver Lodge
British Dictionary definitions for speculum metal
a white hard brittle corrosion-resistant alloy of copper (55–70 per cent) and tin with smaller amounts of other metals. It takes a high polish and is used for mirrors, lamp reflectors, ornamental ware, etc
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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