Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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How Long Does It Take for Copper, Steel and Brass to Rust
Q. How long does it take to rust copper, steel and brass I'm in G4 and need to do a science project
Terry G.student - lower freetown,pei,canada
February 4, 2008
Q. Hey, My name is Tzuf S.and I attend Grant Park High School in Winnipeg, Mb we were instructed to come up with a science fair project and I had a question: What is the average time it takes different nails (iron, aluminum, copper) to rust? also what affects the speed they rust at?
Tzuf S.student - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
February 5, 2008
A. Yes, Terry; yes, Tzuf, I think you are right that these will be good topics and good questions for a science project. Good luck and let us know the findings from your experiments as they progress.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
February 5, 2008
A. If you do the experiment you'll probably find out anyway, but think for a bit about what rust is made from and which of the materials you mentions contains the necessary elements.
Bonus question: What happened to the Statue of Liberty as it sat out off the coast of New York? Did it start to rust, or something else? What was its exterior made from?
Ray Kremer
Stellar Solutions, Inc.
McHenry, Illinois
February 11, 2008
How long does it take for a penny to rust? (Thank you & Thanks to ALL those who answered questions!)
Priscila C.6th grade Student - Dallas, Texas
October 27, 2010
Hi, Priscilla. Actually, a penny will never ever rust for the same reason that no matter how rotten a cabbage gets it will never become a rotting fish. "Rust" is iron oxide, the reaction product of iron or steel with the oxygen in the air. The penny will corrode, but since there is no iron in it, you can't make rust from it.
Get a couple of 1983 or later pennies, have your parent cut them into pieces with tin snips. Put the pieces into vinegar ⇦in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and see what happens?
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
October 27, 2010