Speculum metal

Speculum metal
Speculum Spec"u*lum, n.; pl. L. {Specula}, E. {Speculum}. [L., fr. specere to look, behold. See {Spy}.] 1. A mirror, or looking-glass; especially, a metal mirror, as in Greek and Roman arch[ae]ology. [1913 Webster]

2. A reflector of polished metal, especially one used in reflecting telescopes. See {Speculum metal}, below. [1913 Webster]

3. (Surg.) An instrument for dilating certain passages of the body, and throwing light within them, thus facilitating examination or surgical operations. [1913 Webster]

4. (Zo["o]l.) A bright and lustrous patch of color found on the wings of ducks and some other birds. It is usually situated on the distal portions of the secondary quills, and is much more brilliant in the adult male than in the female. [1913 Webster]

{Speculum metal}, a hard, brittle alloy used for making the reflectors of telescopes and other instruments, usually consisting of copper and tin in various proportions, one of the best being that in which there are 126.4 parts of copper to 58.9 parts of tin, with sometimes a small proportion of arsenic, antimony, or zinc added to improve the whiteness. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Speculum metal — is a very hard white alloy of four parts copper to one part tin, or according to [http://www.astronomybuff.com/leviathan of parsonstown/ other sources] , three parts copper to one part tin; some compositions contained 1–2% of arsenic. Composition …   Wikipedia

  • speculum metal — n. an alloy of copper and tin that will take a mirrorlike polish, used for making mirrors …   English World dictionary

  • speculum metal — veidrodinis metalas statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. speculum metal vok. Spiegelmetall, n rus. зеркальный металл, m pranc. métal à miroir, m …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

  • speculum metal — any of several bronze alloys with a high tin content, often containing other materials, as silver, brass, lead, zinc, or arsenic, used for making mirrors and reflectors. Also called speculum, speculum alloy. [1790 1800] * * * …   Universalium

  • Speculum metal — Spiegelmetall ist eine sehr harte, gut polierbare, weißliche Bronzelegierung aus Kupfer, Zinn und Zusätzen anderer Metalle, die die Härte und Polierbarkeit verbessern. Legierungen Einige für Spiegel verwendete Legierungen sind: einfache… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • speculum metal — noun an alloy of copper and tin used to make mirrors, especially formerly for telescopes …   English new terms dictionary

  • speculum metal — /ˈspɛkjələm mɛtl/ (say spekyuhluhm metl) noun any of several copper and tin alloys used for mirrors and reflectors …  

  • speculum metal — noun : an alloy capable of taking a brilliant polish, used for making reflectors, and being commonly a hard brittle alloy of copper and tin in various ratios (as tin 33 to copper 67) with often a little arsenic, antimony, or zinc added to improve …   Useful english dictionary

  • Speculum — Spec u*lum, n.; pl. L. {Specula}, E. {Speculum}. [L., fr. specere to look, behold. See {Spy}.] 1. A mirror, or looking glass; especially, a metal mirror, as in Greek and Roman arch[ae]ology. [1913 Webster] 2. A reflector of polished metal,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Speculum — Spec u*lum, n.; pl. L. {Specula}, E. {Speculum}. [L., fr. specere to look, behold. See {Spy}.] 1. A mirror, or looking glass; especially, a metal mirror, as in Greek and Roman arch[ae]ology. [1913 Webster] 2. A reflector of polished metal,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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