Bi

Bismuth

Bismuth ‘has been used extensively to make low melting alloys, being added to pewter, the alloy of lead and tin, to adjust its melting point or to antimony to make type metal, once used in printing presses. Alloys containing bismuth were used for safety valves and boilers, melting if the temperature rose too high. And a classic prank invented in Victorian times was to cast spoons from an alloy containing 8 parts Bismuth, 5 parts lead and 3 parts tin. Its melting point is low enough for the spoon to vanish into a cup of hot tea to the astonishment of the unsuspecting visitor.’