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71-408: The yangqin was traditionally fitted with bronze strings (though older Chinese stringed instruments used silk strings, resulting in their, and the yangqin's, categorisation as a silk, or "si" instrument), which gave the instrument a soft timbre. This form of instrument is still occasionally heard today in the "hudie qin" (蝴蝶琴, lit. "butterfly zither") played in the traditional silk and bamboo genre from

142-601: A Vinča culture site in Pločnik ( Serbia ), and believed to have been smelted from a natural tin-copper ore, stannite . Other early examples date to the late 4th millennium BC in Egypt , Susa (Iran) and some ancient sites in China, Luristan (Iran), Tepe Sialk (Iran), Mundigak (Afghanistan), and Mesopotamia (Iraq). Tin bronze was superior to arsenic bronze in that the alloying process could be more easily controlled, and

213-479: A qiān jin (千斤), a loop of string, or, less commonly, a metal hook. Some guitars have a rolling nut. In this design, made popular by Fender , the strings sit on roller bearings instead of nut slots. The rollers let the string freely slide or roll through the nut. The roller nut helps keep the guitar in tune by preventing the strings from getting stuck in the nut. The term "nut" also refers to bridges on certain keyboard instruments. On harpsichords , it designates

284-437: A zero fret —a fret at the beginning of the scale where a normal nut would be that provides the correct string clearance. The zero fret is often found on less expensive instruments, as it is easier to set up an instrument this way. However, a zero fret also makes the sound of the open string similar to fretted notes. A conventional nut can make open strings sound slightly different—and for this reason some high-end instruments use

355-524: A copper oxide (eventually becoming copper carbonate) layer is formed, the underlying metal is protected from further corrosion . This can be seen on statues from the Hellenistic period. If copper chlorides are formed, a corrosion-mode called " bronze disease " will eventually completely destroy it. Bronze, or bronze-like alloys and mixtures, were used for coins over a longer period. Bronze was especially suitable for use in boat and ship fittings prior to

426-623: A guitar known as the saddle in English, the surface of the bridge on which the strings rest, is called a de:Stegeinlage or Steg , in German. In French, the nut is known as a fr:sillet , which, like German, can also translate to mean saddle. The Italian term, capo tasto (or capotasto ; "head of fretboard"), is the origin of the capo . Not all string instruments have nuts as described. The nuts on some instruments are notched deeply enough that they are just string spacers. These instruments use

497-409: A locking vibrato system such as a Floyd Rose or Kahler—clamps the strings against the nut. This improves tuning stability when using the vibrato bar. A drawback however, is that the locking nut must be loosened using an Allen wrench to tune outside the range of the fine tuners on the bridge (if present). The erhu does not use a hard nut to define the vibrating length of the open string, but rather

568-665: A major influence on the development of cultures. In Europe, a major source of tin was the British deposits of ore in Cornwall , which were traded as far as Phoenicia in the eastern Mediterranean . In many parts of the world, large hoards of bronze artifacts are found, suggesting that bronze also represented a store of value and an indicator of social status. In Europe, large hoards of bronze tools, typically socketed axes (illustrated above), are found, which mostly show no signs of wear. With Chinese ritual bronzes , which are documented in

639-471: A perfect fourth, while the right hand's beater plays thirds. These intervals are standard over most of the yangqin's range, due to the positioning of its strings. On both sides of the yangqin, aside from the tuning screws, are numerous cylindrical metal Nuts that can be moved for fine tuning the strings or to raise the strings slightly to eliminate unwanted vibrations that may occur. More modern designs also have moveable ball-shaped nuts that can be adjusted on

710-551: A sharper edge longer. Bronze was still used during the Iron Age, and has continued in use for many purposes to the modern day. There are many different bronze alloys, but typically modern bronze is 88% copper and 12% tin. 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

781-409: A slightly different tone from the instrument, much like the drum sticks of Western percussionists. The yangqin is used both as a solo instrument and in ensembles. Historians offer several theories to explain how the instrument was introduced to China: The word "yangqin" has historically been written in two different ways, using different Chinese characters for "yang". The "yang" in the earlier version

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852-424: A zero fret. String slots in a nut without a zero fret must be cut to the proper depth to make string height correct. Strings that are too low at the nut can buzz against the frets, and too high throws off intonation of fretted notes. Some fretted instruments have a compensated nut. This type of nut provides better average theoretical intonation across the instrument, although this improved accuracy may be below

923-445: A 滑音指套 [huá yīn zhǐ tào] – and sliding it along the length of the indicated string) – are also used. The yangqin is a chromatic instrument with a range of slightly over four octaves. Middle C is located on the tenor bridge, third course from the bottom. The pitches are arranged so that in general, moving one section away from the player's body corresponds to a transposition of a whole tone upwards. Similarly, moving one section towards

994-416: 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. Bronzes are typically ductile alloys, considerably less brittle than cast iron. Copper and its alloys have a huge variety of uses that reflect their versatile physical, mechanical, and chemical properties . Some common examples are

1065-493: Is an alloy consisting primarily of copper , commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium , manganese , nickel , or zinc ) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus , or metalloids , such as arsenic or silicon . These additions produce a range of alloys that may be harder than copper alone, or have other useful properties, such as strength , ductility , or machinability . The archaeological period in which bronze

1136-418: Is in modern times. Because historical artworks were often made of brasses (copper and zinc) and bronzes of different metallic compositions, modern museum and scholarly descriptions of older artworks increasingly use the generalized term "copper alloy" instead of the names of individual alloys. This is done (at least in part) to prevent database searches from failing merely because of errors or disagreements in

1207-527: Is likely that 'nehoshet' refers to copper and its alloys with tin, now called bronze. In the King James Version, there is no use of the word 'bronze' and 'nehoshet' was translated as 'brass'. Modern translations use 'bronze'. Bronze (nehoshet) was used widely in the Tabernacle for items such as the bronze altar (Exodus Ch.27), bronze laver (Exodus Ch.30), utensils, and mirror (Exodus Ch.38). It

1278-453: 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 . Phosphor bronze is used for ships' propellers, musical instruments, and electrical contacts. Bearings are often made of bronze for its friction properties. It can be impregnated with oil to make

1349-541: Is used to make the tone rings of many professional model banjos . The tone ring is a heavy (usually 3 lb; 1.4 kg) 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. Bronze has also been used in coins; most "copper" coins are actually bronze, with about 4 percent tin and 1 percent zinc. As with coins, bronze has been used in

1420-495: Is usually positioned at the front of the orchestra, in the row just in front of the conductor. However, this is not a rule: the Singapore Chinese Orchestra positions the yangqin close to the percussion section. As the yangqin's tones sustain long after they have been played, such an arrangement minimizes the dissonance that results. If the hands are free (e.g. in periods of rest), covering the strings with

1491-560: The Etruscans were making bronze mirrors in the sixth century BC, and Greek and Roman mirrors followed the same pattern. Although other materials such as speculum metal had come into use, and Western glass mirrors had largely taken over, bronze mirrors were still being made in Japan and elsewhere in the eighteenth century, and are still made on a small scale in Kerala , India. Bronze is

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1562-571: 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. It was first adopted for a sports event 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 rather than medals. Bronze is the normal material for the related form of

1633-756: The Kingdom of Benin ; in Europe, Grecian bronzes typically of figures from Greek mythology ; in east Asia , Chinese ritual 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. Tiffany Glass Studios, made famous by Louis C. Tiffany commonly referred to his product as favrile glass or " Tiffany glass ," and used bronze in their artisan work for his Tiffany lamps . The largest and most ornate bronze fountain known to be cast in

1704-550: The plaquette , normally a rectangular work of art with a scene in relief , for a collectors' market. Bronze is also associated with eighth wedding anniversaries. There are over 125 references to bronze ('nehoshet'), which appears to be the Hebrew word used for copper and any of its alloys. However, the Old Testament era Hebrews are not thought to have had the capability to manufacture zinc (needed to make brass) and so it

1775-682: The 12th-century Romanesque Baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège is sometimes described as bronze and sometimes as brass . In the Bronze Age, two forms of bronze were commonly used: "classic bronze", about 10% tin, was used in casting; and "mild bronze", about 6% tin, was hammered from ingots to make sheets. Bladed weapons were mostly cast from classic bronze, while helmets and armor were hammered from mild bronze. Modern 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

1846-617: The 16th century according to historians. Music historians report that the salterio , a hammered dulcimer, was played in Portugal, Spain, and Italy during this period. Historians say it is possible that the yangqin originated when the Portuguese, the English or the Dutch brought a dulcimer player to China who performed for locals. As the yangqin is a type of hammered dulcimer, it shares many elements of construction with other instruments in

1917-693: The Middle East. The ships from this region bought back precious stones, slaves, exotic wares, fruits, spices, etc. Along with trade, businesses, ideas, philosophies and scientific knowledge were exchanged, including religion (principally Buddhism). During the 16th century, the Age of Exploration in Europe reached its climax and soon trade was established between China and Europe. Historians state that Portuguese, and later, English and Dutch ships, had brisk trade with China. Portuguese trading in Chinese waters began in

1988-481: The Shanghai region known as Jiangnan sizhu (江南絲竹), as well as in some Cantonese music and Chaozhou (Teochew) music groups. The Thai and Cambodian khim are nearly identical in their construction, having been introduced to those nations by southern Chinese musicians. Since the 1950s, however, steel alloy strings (in conjunction with copper-wound steel strings for the bass notes ) have been used, in order to give

2059-452: The barrel. 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 )

2130-410: The battle of David and Goliath in I Samuel 17:5-6;38 (also see II Chron. 12:10). Nut (string instrument) A nut , on a stringed musical instrument , is a small piece of hard material that supports the strings at the end closest to the headstock or scroll . The nut marks one end of the vibrating length of each open string, sets the spacing of the strings across the neck, and usually holds

2201-410: The bridge. The hammers are made of flexible bamboo, and one end is half covered by rubber. Due to their unique construction, there are two ways to play: with the rubber side for a softer sound, and with the bamboo side for a crisper, more percussive sound. This technique, known as 反竹 (fǎnzhǔ), is best utilized in the higher ranges of the yangqin. Additionally, the ends of the sticks can be used to pluck

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2272-400: The fly with the fingers; this provides some microtuning and additional dynamics during performances, such as portamentos and vibratos (see below: "Manner of Performance"). The sticks are held, one in each hand, and hit the strings alternately. In the orchestra, the yangqin often adds to the harmony by playing chords or arpeggios . As the yangqin is softer than other Chinese instruments, it

2343-413: The hammered dulcimer family: Modern yangqin usually have 144 strings in total, with each pitch running in courses, with up to 5 strings per course, in order to boost the volume. The strings come in various thicknesses, and are tied at one end by screws, and at the other with tuning pegs. The pegs and screws are covered during playing by a hinged panel/board. This panel is opened up during tuning to access

2414-461: The hands quickly dampens the vibrations. The yangqin has been called the "Chinese piano" as it has an indispensable role in the accompaniment of Chinese string and wind instruments. The yangqin's solo repertoire calls for more techniques than is usually required in orchestral pieces. Examples include pressing down on the strings to produce vibrato effects, similar to that of a guzheng , as well as harmonics and 顫竹 (chàn zhǔ), which involves flicking

2485-545: The high electrical conductivity of pure copper, low-friction properties of bearing bronze (bronze that has a high lead content— 6–8%), resonant qualities of bell bronze (20% tin, 80% copper), and resistance to corrosion by seawater of several bronze alloys. The melting point of bronze varies depending on the ratio of the alloy components and is about 950 °C (1,742 °F). Bronze is usually nonmagnetic, but certain alloys containing iron or nickel may have magnetic properties. Typically bronze oxidizes only superficially; once

2556-699: The highest form of sculpture in Ancient Greek art , though survivals are few, as bronze was a valuable material in short supply in the Late Antique and medieval periods. Many of the most famous Greek bronze sculptures are known through Roman copies in marble, which were more likely to survive. In India, bronze sculptures from the Kushana ( Chausa hoard ) and Gupta periods ( Brahma from Mirpur-Khas , Akota Hoard, Sultanganj Buddha ) and later periods ( Hansi Hoard) have been found. Indian Hindu artisans from

2627-484: The inscriptions they carry and from other sources, the case is clear. These were made in enormous quantities for elite burials, and also used by the living for ritual offerings. Though bronze is generally harder than wrought iron , with Vickers hardness of 60–258 vs. 30–80, the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age after a serious disruption of the tin trade: the population migrations of around 1200–1100 BC reduced

2698-432: The instrument a brighter, and louder tone. The modern yangqin can have as many as five courses of bridges and may be arranged chromatically. Traditional instruments, with three or more courses of bridges, are also still widely in use. The instrument's strings are struck with two lightweight bamboo beaters (also known as hammers) with rubber tips. A professional musician often carries several sets of beaters, each of which draws

2769-491: The left of the performer generally corresponds to a transposition of a perfect fifth upwards. These are only rules of thumb since the arrangement has to be modified towards the extremes of the pitch range to fill out notes in the chromatic scale. Such an arrangement facilitates transposition. In the playing of traditional Chinese music, most Chinese yangqin players use a numerical notation system called jianpu , rather than Western staff notation. Bronze Bronze

2840-824: The main alloying ingredient. They are commonly used in architectural applications. Plastic bronze contains a significant quantity of lead, which makes for improved plasticity, and was possibly used by the ancient Greeks in ship construction. Silicon bronze has a composition of Si: 2.80–3.80%, Mn: 0.50–1.30%, Fe: 0.80% max., Zn: 1.50% max., Pb: 0.05% max., Cu: balance. Other bronze alloys include aluminium bronze , phosphor bronze , manganese bronze, bell metal , arsenical bronze , speculum metal , bismuth bronze , and cymbal alloys . 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 denser than steel, although alloys using aluminum or silicon may be slightly less dense. Bronze

2911-462: The manufacture of various types of medals for centuries, and " bronze medals " are known in contemporary times for being awarded for third place in sporting competitions and other events. The term is now often used for third place even when no actual bronze medal is awarded. The usage in part arose from the trio of gold , silver and bronze to represent the first three Ages of Man in Greek mythology:

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2982-673: The massive bronze doors to the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC. Before it became possible to produce glass with acceptably flat surfaces, bronze was a standard material for mirrors. Bronze was used for this purpose in many parts of the world, probably based on independent discoveries. Bronze mirrors survive from the Egyptian Middle Kingdom (2040–1750 BC), and China from at least c.  550 BC . In Europe,

3053-650: The naming of historic copper alloys. The word bronze (1730–1740) is borrowed from Middle French bronze (1511), itself borrowed from Italian bronzo ' bell metal, brass ' (13th century, transcribed in Medieval Latin as bronzium ) from either: The discovery of bronze enabled people to create metal objects that were harder and more durable than previously possible. Bronze tools , weapons , armor , and building materials such as decorative tiles were harder and more durable than their stone and copper (" Chalcolithic ") predecessors. Initially, bronze

3124-581: 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 deities of Hinduism . 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

3195-467: The players perform by gripping the two mallets between their fore and middle fingers. Both modern and earlier yangqin mallets did not include finger grips. The bridge of the yangqin consist of long, single pieces of wood with many protruding "stubs" supporting the strings unlike the santur, which uses a number of small, individual chesspiece-like bridges. The port at Canton/Guangzhou attracts traders from all over Asia: from Japan, India, Southeast Asia, and

3266-424: The preferred metal for bells in the form of a high tin bronze alloy known as bell metal , which is typically about 23% tin. Nearly all professional cymbals are made from bronze, which gives a desirable balance of durability and timbre . Several types of bronze are used, commonly B20 bronze , which is roughly 20% tin, 80% copper, with traces of silver, or the tougher B8 bronze made from 8% tin and 92% copper. As

3337-452: The proprietary Oilite and similar material for bearings. Aluminum bronze is hard and wear-resistant, and is used for bearings and machine tool ways. The Doehler Die Casting Co. of Toledo, Ohio were known for the production of Brastil , a high tensile corrosion resistant bronze alloy. The Seagram Building on New York City 's Park Avenue is the "iconic glass box sheathed in bronze, designed by Mies van der Rohe ." The Seagram Building

3408-454: The ready availability of silicon bronze brazing rod, which allows color-matched repair of defects in castings. Aluminum is also used for the structural metal aluminum bronze. Bronze parts are tough and typically used for bearings , clips, electrical connectors and springs . Bronze also has low friction against dissimilar metals, making it important for cannons prior to modern tolerancing , where iron cannonballs would otherwise stick in

3479-690: The resulting alloy was stronger and easier to cast. Also, unlike those of arsenic , metallic tin and the fumes from tin refining are not toxic . Tin became the major non-copper ingredient of bronze in the late 3rd millennium BC. Ores of copper and the far rarer tin are not often found together (exceptions include Cornwall in the United Kingdom, one ancient site in Thailand and one in Iran), so serious bronze work has always involved trade with other regions. Tin sources and trade in ancient times had

3550-478: The shipping of tin around the Mediterranean and from Britain, limiting supplies and raising prices. As the art of working in iron improved, iron became cheaper and improved in quality. As later cultures advanced from hand- wrought iron to machine- forged iron (typically made with trip hammers powered by water), blacksmiths also learned how to make steel . Steel is stronger and harder than bronze and holds

3621-443: The starting position of each string according to thickness. While not a complete solution such as a true temperament fretboard, there is a noticeable difference in tuning within chords. Many guitar companies, such as Music Man , and ESP include compensated nuts as standard on most of their instruments, and companies such as Earvana provide retrofittable types. Another type is a locking nut . This nut—usually used in conjunction with

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3692-423: The sticks lightly over the strings, causing them to vibrate, which results in a short, quick tremolo. Numerous other techniques, such as portamento – a glide from one note to another (accomplished through 2 methods, both involving the lengthening or shortening of strings: the first is by sliding the fine-tuning devices on the sides of the instrument by hand, and the second is by wearing a metallic "ring" – known as

3763-429: The strings at the proper height from the fingerboard . Along with the bridge , the nut defines the scale lengths (vibrating length) of the open strings. The nut may be made of ebony , ivory , cow bone, brass , Corian , Tusq or plastic, and is usually notched or grooved for the strings. The grooves are designed to lead the string from the fingerboard to the headstock or pegbox in a smooth curve, to prevent damage to

3834-500: The strings of the "left bridge" and "tenor bridge" are struck at a point where they intersect each other), resulting in a rich, powerful tone, which is especially pronounced in the lower registers due to the strings' long echoes. 林沖夜奔 (Lin Chong Flees In The Night), composed by 項祖華 (Xiang Zu Hua), is a representative solo piece which utilizes 雙音琴竹. When using 雙音琴竹, the left hand holds a beater that plays intervals of

3905-465: The strings or their windings. Bowed string instruments in particular benefit from an application of soft pencil graphite in the notches of the nut, to preserve the delicate flat windings of their strings. The word may have come from the German Nut (pronounced "noot"), meaning groove or slot . The nut, however, is called a de:Sattel ("saddle"; also Obersattel ) in German, whereas the part of

3976-408: The strings, producing a stinging, precise sound. Glissandos can also be achieved in this way by running the ends of the sticks up or down the strings. Furthermore, some songs require the use of "雙音琴竹" (shuāng yīn qín zhǔ), literally "double-note yangqin hammers". These specially-constructed hammers have 2 striking surfaces, allowing the player to play up to 4 notes simultaneously (or even 8 notes, if

4047-558: The threshold of human ability to hear it and may also be below the threshold of uncontrollable note-to-note intonation variability. The principle given that strings are different thicknesses and have different tensions, the temperament of each fret is not 100% accurate for an equal temperament instrument. This is especially evident on the first few frets of an electric guitar. Many guitar players notice how 'open position' chords (Such as E, A, C, D and G) never sound in tune with each other. A compensated nut aims to correct this, by staggering

4118-469: The tin content in a bell or cymbal rises, the timbre drops. Bronze is also used for the windings of steel and nylon strings of various stringed instruments such as the double bass , piano, harpsichord , and 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. Bronzes of various metallurgical properties are widely used in struck idiophones around

4189-410: The tuning pegs. There are usually four to five bridges on a yangqin . From right to left, they are: bass bridge, "right bridge", tenor bridge, "left bridge", and the chromatic bridge. During playing, one is supposed to strike the strings on the left side of the bridges. However, the strings on the "chromatic bridge" are struck on the right, and strings on the "left bridge" can be struck on both sides of

4260-439: The unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mould. Then, as the bronze cools, it shrinks a little, making it easier to separate from the mould. The Assyrian king Sennacherib (704–681 BC) claims to have been the first to cast monumental bronze statues (of up to 30 tonnes) using two-part moulds instead of the lost-wax method . Bronze statues were regarded as

4331-419: 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 20th 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

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4402-657: The world was by the Roman Bronze Works and General Bronze Corporation in 1952. The material used for the fountain, known as statuary bronze, is a quaternary alloy made of copper, zinc, tin, and lead, and traditionally golden brown in color. This was made for the Andrew W. Mellon Memorial Fountain in Federal Triangle in Washington, DC. Another example of the massive, ornate design projects of bronze, and attributed to General Bronze/Roman Bronze Works were

4473-710: 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, Javanese gamelan , and other bronze musical instruments . The earliest bronze archeological finds in Indonesia date from 1–2 BC, including flat plates probably suspended and struck by a wooden or bone mallet. Ancient bronze drums from Thailand and Vietnam date back 2,000 years. Bronze bells from Thailand and Cambodia date back to 3600 BC. Some companies are now making saxophones from phosphor bronze (3.5 to 10% tin and up to 1% phosphorus content). Bell bronze/B20

4544-525: Was made out of copper and arsenic or from naturally or artificially mixed ores of those metals, forming arsenic bronze . The earliest known arsenic-copper-alloy artifacts come from a Yahya Culture (Period V 3800-3400 BCE) site, at Tal-i-Iblis on the Iranian plateau , and were smelted from native arsenical copper and copper-arsenides, such as algodonite and domeykite . The earliest tin-copper-alloy artifact has been dated to c.  4650 BC , in

4615-474: Was mentioned in the account of Moses holding up a bronze snake on a pole in Numbers Ch.21. In First Kings, it is mentioned that Hiram was very skilled in working with bronze, and he made many furnishings for Solomon's Temple including pillars, capitals, stands, wheels, bowls, and plates, some of which were highly decorative (see I Kings 7:13-47). Bronze was also widely used as battle armor and helmet, as in

4686-424: Was not only the most expensive building of its time — $ 36 million — but it was the first building in the world with floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Mies van der Rohe achieved the crisp edges that were custom-made with specific detailing by General Bronze and "even the screws that hold in the fixed glass-plate windows were made of brass." Bronze is widely used for casting bronze sculptures . Common bronze alloys have

4757-481: Was on hand; the metal of the 12th-century English Gloucester Candlestick is bronze containing a mixture of copper, zinc, tin, lead, nickel, iron, antimony, arsenic and 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 suggest that the candlestick was made from a hoard of old coins. The 13th-century Benin Bronzes are in fact brass, and

4828-593: Was the first time that an entire building was sheathed in bronze. The General Bronze Corporation fabricated 3,200,000 pounds (1,600 tons) of bronze at its plant in Garden City, New York . The Seagram Building is a 38-story, 516-foot bronze-and- topaz -tinted glass building. The building looks like a "squarish 38-story tower clad in a restrained curtain wall of metal and glass." "Bronze was selected because of its color, both before and after aging, its corrosion resistance, and its extrusion properties. In 1958, it

4899-468: Was the hardest metal in widespread use is known as the Bronze Age . The beginning of the Bronze Age in western Eurasia and India is conventionally dated to the mid-4th millennium BC (~3500 BC), and to the early 2nd millennium BC in China; elsewhere it gradually spread across regions. The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age starting about 1300 BC and reaching most of Eurasia by about 500 BC, although bronze continued to be much more widely used than it

4970-402: Was to influence China by land, it is likely to be this instrument. The technical structure of the santur is different in the way the tuning pegs are place, the bridges and the mallets. The yangqin's tuning pins are set in parallel instead of a 90-degree angle down at the side. The mallets of the santur also differ from those of the yangqin – they are made of wood with finger grip, designed to let

5041-572: Was written with the character 洋 , meaning "foreign". It was later changed, in 1910, to the character "yang" ( 揚 ), meaning "acclaimed". Another theory of how the yangqin came into contact with the Chinese is through the Silk Road from Mongolia . At a glance, the Silk Route stretches almost 5,000 miles reaching from China to the Middle East, including Iran (Persia). The Iranian santur , a dulcimer, has existed since ancient times. If any dulcimer

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