brass and nickle silver

[nkp_174]

why do you say that brass track is a waste of money other than your opinion, as i have stated according to all the metalargy reports i have read brass and nickle brass ( nickle silver ) oxidise at almost the same rate and the common oxide to both is CuO, also all the reports state that the oxides of nickle are a semiconductor not a conductor . the proponents of nickle brass rail over brass rail not one has been able to back there clams with a lick of metallurgy evidents.

Jim,
I've taken way too many chemistry and chemical engineering classes in undergrad and grad school to consider your reports to be authoritative (as written). I do not doubt the facts that you have reported, but I do believe that there is more to the story than what you have found. I spend a very large percentage of my time reading scientific papers and you have not come anywhere close to the burden of proof that I am accustomed to seeing.

You did not state the oxidation rates of any brass alloys (including nickel silver). What metallurgical reports did you read? Do you have citations in the scientific literature?

So far you have started the contents of the alloys and what products were formed by oxidation. You did not discuss how the metallic bonds affected the properties of the alloys. Stainless steel has iron in it, yet it doesn't rust because of the addition of chromium. This is a classic example of how the sum is not the same as the parts. Also, while you have reported that they are semiconductors, you have not reported the electrical conductivity of any of the materials.

Michael