Zinc is a bluish-white metal. It is brittle at surrounding temperatures but is malleable at 100 to 150°C. It is a good conductor of electricity, and burns in air at high red heat that then evolves into white clouds of the oxide.
Density 7.11 g.cm-3 at 20°C
Melting point 420 °C
Boiling point 907 °C
Centuries before zinc was recognized as a distinct element, zinc ores were used for making brass (a mixture of copper and zinc). A brass dating from between 1400-1000 BC has been found in Palestine. An alloy containing 87% zinc was found in prehistoric ruins in Romania. Zinc ores with copper was apparently discovered in Cyprus and was used later by the Romans. The metal was rediscovered later in Europe. William Champion set up a zinc industry in Bristol (England) in the 1740s. The symbol was written by many chemist.
