Meaning of gun-metal | Babel Free

Definitions

Noun. [B2]

Examples

“The beſt Guns are not made of malleable Metal, and cannot be made of pure Copper or Braß; but it is neceſſary to put⟳ in courſer Metals to make⟳ it run⟳ cloſer and ſounder, as Lead⟳ and Pot-metal. […] About 20l. of Lead⟳ is uſually put⟳ into 100l. of Pot-metal; but about 6l. is ſufficient to put⟳ into 100l. of Gun-metal.”

“Braſs, Copper, Latten, Bell-Metal, Pan-Metal, Gun-Metal, or Shruff-Metal, whether clean⟳ or mixed, carried beyond Sea, forfeits double⟳ the Value thereof; (Tin and Lead⟳ only excepted) the Informer half, […]”

“Phosphorus is known to improve⟳ the strength of copper, and to make⟳ it cast⟳ soundly. Abel, chemist to the British War Department, stated before the Institute of Civil Engineers, that he had made some experiments upon the combinations of phosphorus and copper, and "had found that by the introduction of a small proportion, say⟳ from 2 to 4 per cent., of phosphorus into copper, a metal was produced remarkable for its density and tenacity, and superior in every respect⟳ to ordinary gun-metal. […] The experiments alluded to were merely preliminary, and had been, to a certain extent, checked by the improvements since introduced in the construction of field-guns, which had led to a discontinuance of the employment of gun-metal."”

“From his window on to the courtyard he watched the low, gun-metal sky over Châteauroux and the bare barrack trees, and was perversely reminded of the harsh desert light⟳, the heat, the colours of the dunes at evening; the overcast skies.”

CEFR level