The " fusibility " is the quality of fuse, or what is the same, the ease with which a material can melt or melt. This is a term that is used mainly at the chemical level and is applicable to trades such as blacksmithing or heavy industries where metals, minerals and other materials that can be fusible are worked.
Fusibility is the temperature that a mineral has to reach in order for it to melt, being a very important data to be able to identify it.
Source Pixabay.com
Meaning
The Royal Spanish Academy included the concept »fusibility» in its dictionary in 1899. It defines it as the quality of a fuse, that is, its ability to melt. In fact, the wire or metal sheet that is installed in different electrical circuits called a "fuse" is designed so that it melts when the electricity is excessive and interrupts its passage to avoid severe problems.
In welding, the materials to be joined require a low melting point, that is, they are easy to melt, which is why they are considered to have high fusibility. It should be noted that the melting point of a substance is the temperature at which it changes its state from solid to liquid.
The melting temperatures of substances represent a very useful guide to be able to be identified. When it comes to minerals, which are more difficult to melt and temperatures tend to reach very high values, the determination of these is usually not very sure.
To indicate an approximate level of melting, it is compared with other minerals whose melting point is known. These are grouped on the Von Kobell scale.
The Seven Levels of Von Kobell
Wolfgang Franz von Kobell (1803-1882) was a German mineralogist, tireless traveler, and short story writer who studied and discovered various minerals.
Among his most famous contributions, the scale that bears his name stands out, which refers to the melting temperature of minerals. This is based on the reference taking of some of these minerals to be able to divide it into seven levels:
1-Antimonite: with a melting point of approximately 525 ºC.
2-Natrolite: 800 ºC
3-Almadina: 1,050 ºC
4-Actinolite: 1,200 ºC
5-Orthoclase: 1,300 ºC
6-Bronzite: 1,400 ºC
7-Quartz: infusible.
Mohs scale
On the opposite side is the hardness of the minerals, which allows them to be more or less easy to melt. There is also a scale for this measurement, designed by Friederich Mohs (1773-1839).
The Mohs scale is made up of ten minerals ordered by their hardness from lowest to highest, where each assigned mineral lines its precedent. Talc is number 1 and diamond is number 10, being the hardest in nature and scratches all of its predecessors, while talc does not scratch any of those that follow.
What is fusibility for
Fusibility is used to give another shape to what is melted or to manufacture parts through molds. Also the foundry is used to make alloys and get more resistant metals. For example, pure metals tend to be less resistant to corrosion over time.
In engineering, a "fusible alloy" is an alloy that melts at a moderately low temperature compared to the melting of its components.
That is why 24 karat gold jewelry (considered as pure soft gold) are not the most common on the market, since they last less without corroding. On the other hand, the most popular jewels are those of 10 carats, since if mixed with copper and silver, they last longer over time without deforming.
On the other hand, knowing the fusibility is also vital to be able to recycle the materials that were previously melted and used.
References
- Von Kobell and Friedrich Mohs scales. Recovered from: fdminerals.es
- Fusibility. (2019). Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy. Recovered from: dle.rae.es
- Fusibility. Recovered from: quimica.es
- Fusibility. Recovered from: slideshare.net
- Fusibility. (2019). Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy. Recovered from: dle.rae.es