Tin foil

Tin foil, also spelled tinfoil, is a thin foil made of tin. Actual tin foil was superseded by cheaper and more durablealuminium foil after World War II. Despite this, aluminium foil is still referred to as "tin foil" in many regions.

History

Foil made from a thin leaf of tin was commercially available before its aluminium counterpart. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, tin foil was in common use, and some people continue to refer to the new product by the name of the old one. Tin foil is stiffer than aluminium foil. It tends to give a slight tin taste to food wrapped in it, which is a major reason it has largely been replaced by aluminium and other materials for wrapping food.

Tin foil was used as a filling for tooth cavities prior to the 20th century.

The first audio recordings on phonograph cylinders were made on tin foil.

Tin was first replaced by aluminium starting in 1910, when the first aluminium foil rolling plant, “Dr. Lauber, Neher & Cie., Emmishofen.” was opened in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. The plant, owned by aluminium manufacturers J.G. Neher & Sons, started in 1886 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, at the foot of the Rhine Falls—capturing the falls’ energy to produce aluminium. Neher's sons together with Dr. Lauber invented the endless rolling process and the use of aluminium foil as a protective barrier.

Aluminium foil

Aluminium foil (or aluminum foil), often referred to with the misnomer tin foil, is aluminium prepared in thin metal leaves with a thickness less than 0.2 mm (7.9 mils); thinner gauges down to 6 micrometres (0.24 mils) are also commonly used. In the United States, foils are commonly gauged in thousandths of an inch or mils. Standard household foil is typically 0.016 mm (0.63 mils) thick, and heavy duty household foil is typically 0.024 mm (0.94 mils). The foil is pliable, and can be readily bent or wrapped around objects. Thin foils are fragile and are sometimes laminated to other materials such as plastics or paper to make them more useful. Aluminium foil supplanted tin foil in the mid 20th century.

Annual production of aluminium foil was approximately 800,000 tonnes (880,000 tons) in Europe and 600,000 tonnes (660,000 tons) in the U.S. in 2003. Approximately 75% of aluminium foil is used for packaging of foods, cosmetics, and chemical products, and 25% used for industrial applications (e.g. thermal insulation, cables and electronics).

Tin foil (disambiguation)

Tin foil is a thin metal foil.

Tin foil or tinfoil may also refer to:

Tin

Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (for Latin: stannum) and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows a chemical similarity to both neighboring group-14 elements, germanium and lead, and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4. Tin is the 49th most abundant element and has, with 10 stable isotopes, the largest number of stable isotopes in the periodic table. It is a silvery, malleable other metal that is not easily oxidized in air, obtained chiefly from the mineral cassiterite where it occurs as tin dioxide, SnO₂.

The first alloy used on a large scale since 3000 BC was bronze, an alloy of tin and copper. After 600 BC, pure metallic tin was produced. Pewter, which is an alloy of 85–90% tin with the remainder commonly consisting of copper, antimony and lead, was used for flatware from the Bronze Age until the 20th century. In modern times, tin is used in many alloys, most notably tin/lead soft solders, which are typically 60% or more tin. Another large application for tin is corrosion-resistant tin plating of steel. Because of its low toxicity, tin-plated metal was used for food packaging as tin cans, which are now made mostly of steel, even though the name is kept in English.

Tin box

A tin box is a tinplate container. Tinplate metal is primarily steel with a very thin tin coating. Tin-free steel is also used. In some cultures, these boxes or cans are referred to as "tin boxes" or sometimes even "tins". Many “tin boxes” have hinged or removable lids or covers. Some people collect tin boxes as a hobby.

Cans

These tinplate cans are often used to package breath mints, throat lozenges, instant coffee, biscuits and holiday treats. Highly decorated "holiday tins" are sold during the holiday season and are popular gifts, and often contain cookies, candy, or popcorn. Similar festive containers are used in Europe for sweets, biscuits, cakes and chocolates, mainly during Christmas, rather than in the summer holidays and in countries with British associations, they are usually called "biscuit tins". In Denmark, butter cookies in tins are produced and sold there, and are also exported to other countries. These types of smaller tin boxes are sometimes reused to store items, or to create kits, such as a survival kit. A hobby involves modifying tin boxes with decorations and embellishments.

Tin (disambiguation)

Tin is a chemical element.

Tin may also refer to:

See also

Foil

Foil may refer to: