Bronze bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, which has special importance and historical significance. Bronze was made as early as 3000 BC, but it was long before it was used as an artificial product for general application. Homer mentioned in the Iliad epic that hephaestus, the Greek Vulcan, put copper, tin, silver and gold into his furnace, and the result was refined into a shield used by Achilles. The ratio of copper to tin varies greatly (measured from the remaining artifacts, the content of copper is 67 ~ 95%); But in the Middle Ages, people knew that different proportions could produce different effects. The 1 1 century Greek manuscript collected in the library of St. Kyle's Church in Venice lists the alloy of 1 pound copper and 2 ounces of tin, that is, the ratio of 8 to 1, which is similar to the gun bronze used later. Bronze is harder than copper, has a low melting point and is easy to melt and cast. Bronze is also harder than pure iron, and bronzes with different alloy compositions are suitable for manufacturing gun barrels and machine bearings. Among tools and weapons, iron has been used instead of bronze in history, not because of its special advantages, but because iron is more abundant than copper and tin. Bell bronze is characterized by its loud sound when struck. Its tin content is high, ranging from 1/4 to 1/7. The tin content of sculpture bronze is as low as110, and sometimes a mixture of zinc and lead is added. Zinc can improve hardness, and bearing alloys usually contain a small amount of zinc. Adding a small amount of phosphorus to bronze can improve its properties and strength; The phosphorus content of phosphor bronze ingot can reach 1~2%, and the castings only contain trace amounts. It has high strength and is especially suitable for plunger, valve and sleeve of pump. Manganese bronze is also used in machinery industry, containing a small amount of tin or even no tin, but a lot of zinc and manganese. Besides being used as tools and weapons, bronze is also widely used to make coins. Many copper coins are actually cast in bronze, and their typical composition is 4% tin and 1% zinc.

At that time, copper futures were mainly used as weapons, because the ironmaking technology was not mature enough to widely use iron. Therefore, technologically advanced bronze is still used as the main material of weapons. After the feudal society, the main material of weapons became iron.