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n. Symbol Zn A bluish-white, lustrous metallic element that is brittle at room temperature but malleable with heating. It is used to form a wide variety of alloys including brass, bronze, various solders, and nickel silver, in galvanizing iron and other metals, for electric fuses, anodes, meter cases and batteries, and in roofing, gutters, and various household objects. US pennies minted after 1982 consist of a copper-clad zinc core. Atomic number 30; atomic weight 65.38; melting point 419.53°C; boiling point 907°C; specific gravity 7.134 (at 25°C); valence 2. See Periodic Table. tr.v. zinced, zinc·ing, zincs or zincked or zinck·ing or zincks To coat or treat with zinc; galvanize. [German Zink, possibly from Zinke, spike (so called because it becomes jagged in the furnace), from Middle High German zinke, from Old High German zinko.] |
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