Chemical analysis of the surface finish used on early Meccano parts circa 1913/4
My sincere thanks to the Superconducting group, Physics department of Geneva University for their kind assistance and use of their Mass Spectrum Analyser
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Further examples will be added as data comes available.
This analysis technique determines precisely the relative atomic elemental composition of the surface "skin" of the piece
|
Element |
Element Weight % |
Weighted measurement error % |
|
|
Click on part image to see a highly magnified image of the surface! Note: Almost 1% aluminium present, but little copper! Perhaps the black colour is due to Iron Sulphide? |
Fe |
98.32 |
+/- 2.50 |
|
S |
0.46 |
+/- 0.08 |
|
|
Cu |
0.29 |
+/- 0.12 |
|
|
Cl |
0.05 |
+/- 0.06 |
|
|
Al |
0.88 |
+/- 0.14 |
|
Element |
Element Weight % |
Weighted measurement error % |
|
|
This time the coating is clearly almost pure copper (oxide), probably electro-coated. |
Cu |
98.67 |
+/- 1.26 |
|
Fe |
1.08 |
+/- 0.06 |
|
|
S |
0.25 |
+/- 0.01 |
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