Difference between Bronze and Iron...?

Question

Can someone reconcile these statements for me?

1. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze
"With the exception of steel, bronze is superior to iron in nearly every application."

2. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-age_system
[People switched from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age because] "no one would have wanted to use bronze tools if there had been iron ones around instead."



Maybe the second statement should refer to steel instead of (pure) iron. Did the Iron Age start with the use of pure iron, or did it start with steel? If it started with pure iron, then how was it an advantage over bronze? And if it started with steel, then shouldn't it be called the Steel Age instead of the Iron Age?

Answer 1

Iron rusted but stronger, brittle, harder to forge
bronze did not rust, not near a brittle even in cold, easy-er to form.

Answer 2

Iron, Fe +3 is a readily available mineral naturally occurring in many location throughout the world. However, when expose to the oxygen in air, it forms iron oxide or rust. Bronze however, is an amalgam of copper and tin which will not rust but will still oxidize. Iron is relatively weak and bends easily because the iron's electrons can shift around very easily. Bronze is much more dense. Steel is a much more modern man made invention, where iron is mixed with carbon. the carbon locks the iron's electrons into shapes refereed to as lattices. However, this processes can lead to the metal becoming brittle and easily shattered. By altering the carbon content, engineers can form very hard, brittle, steel or hard but flexible steel.


One answer you were not looking for is to be very careful about the source of your information. While Wikipedia is a fun place to look up information, the information can be supplied by anyone and is not, that i know of, verified. Always consider the source.

Answer 3

Warfare just happened to be one of those exceptional applications. Actually, the advent of the Iron Age was a clamitinous event for those who were the "bronzies". Whole civilizations crumbled, and for a few hundred years, history was treated to a "Dark Age" not much different than the one that brought down the Roman Empire.

Answer 4

Bronze is "soft" and low-melting, an alloy of copper and tin. Warriors of the Bronze Age used it for swords and knives until they learned to use temperatures high enough to smelt and forge iron. Bronze was used for cannon until well into the 19th century. Before that, iron was preferred for swords and knives because it was "harder" but higher melting, not as available, and harder to work. Krupp of Essen, Germany, replaced bronze cannons with cast steel in the 19th century. Steel is various high-strength alloys of iron with other metals.

Answer 5

To reconcile the two solutions: Bronze is an alluring alloy. earlier each thing the iron used grew to become into rusty black, and rusted (ask your self!) So bronze grew to become into visually extra suitable, while iron grew to become into tougher, held as side extra suitable, and regularly made a extra deadly weapon.