White tin is
refined, metallic
tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
.
White tin
It contrasts with
black tin
Black tin is the raw ore of tin, usually cassiterite, as sold by a tin mine to a smelting company. After mining, the ore must be concentrated by several processes to reduce the amount of gangue it contains before it can be sold. It contrasts ...
, which is unrefined tin ore (
cassiterite) as extracted from the ground. The term "white tin" was historically associated with tin mining in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
and
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
where it was smelted from black tin in
blowing houses.
White tin may also refer specifically to
β-tin, the metallic
allotrope of the pure element, as opposed to the nonmetallic allotrope
α-tin (also known as gray tin) which occurs at temperatures below , a transformation known as
tin pest
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
). White tin has
tetragonal unit cell.
References
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Tin mining
Mining in Cornwall
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