Tin pest

The allotropic transformation

At 13.2 degrees allotrope of β-modification white tin to brittle, α-modification grey tin. Eventually it decomposes into powder, hence the name tin pest.

The decomposition will temperatures will simply disintegrate.

Possible historical examples

Scott expedition to Antarctica

In 1910 British polar explorer Robert Scott hoped to be the first to reach the South Pole, but was beaten by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. On foot, the expedition trudged through the frozen deserts of the Antarctic, making for caches of food and soldered with tin — were empty. Members of the expedition later died in the cold and blizzards, only eleven miles from a massive depot of supplies.

The cause of the empty tins is unknown. Some observers blame poor quality soldering, although tin cans over eighty years old have been discovered in Antarctic buildings with the soldering in good condition. In any case, the lack of kerosene was just one factor in the deaths. One source observes,

The likely cause of death for Scott's polar party was some combination of scurvy, gangrene, starvation, dehydration, and hypothermia.^[1]

Napoleon's buttons

The story is often told of Napoleon's men freezing in the bitter Russian winter, their clothes falling apart as tin pest ate the buttons. Whether failing buttons were indeed a contributing factor in the failure of the invasion remains disputed; critics of the theory point out that the tin used would have been quite impure and thus more tolerant of cold temperatures. It should also be noted that Napoleon was already retreating when winter set in.

Modern tin

Today tin casting and plating avoids tin pest. The tin is lead have also been used.

References

1. ^ On Robert Scott's mission to the South Pole