180 Miracles Ahead! 



the amounts of nickel, chromium, vanadium, and other scarce 

 metals in alloy steels. New and improved heat treating and 

 working processes have made the N.E. steels possible, and 

 they are proving to be equal or superior to the high-grade 

 alloy steels for many purposes. 



Copper, the first metal man learned to use, ranks next to 

 iron as our most useful metal. It is utilized in all types of elec- 

 trical equipment. Look around the room you are in and you 

 will probably see several objects containing copper. Large 

 amounts of copper are used in alloys such as brass (copper, 

 zinc), bronze (copper, zinc, tin), and gun metal (copper and 

 tin), and with nickel and iron to make Monel metal. 



Huge supplies of copper are produced in Montana, Utah, 

 and Arizona. But the production of tanks, guns, ships, and 

 planes for global war has caused a critical shortage of this 

 metal. Tin is another valuable metal which is on the critical 

 list of metals that must be conserved. In 1941 we imported 

 60 per cent of the world's supply of tin, which is so impor- 

 tant in many alloys and as a coating to protect other metals 

 from corrosion. And 90 per cent of our imports came from 

 the Far East. 



The emergency has shifted silver from the class of rare and 

 precious metals to one of great utility in war industry. Silver 

 is similar to copper in strength, but is a 10 per cent better 

 conductor of electricity and a much better conductor of 

 heat. Huge amounts of silver are used each week to make 

 bearings that will stand high loads and speeds in war equip- 

 ment. Some engineers say air speeds would be reduced as 

 much as seventy-five miles per hour if silver-plated bearings 

 were not available. 



Gold has great resistance to chemicals and could be em- 

 ployed for many industrial purposes. Its price, of around four 

 hundred and fifty dollars a pound, restricts its use in large 

 quantities. Some buildings, however, use pure gold on their 



