The composition of metals in the tracks that we use has “0” silver. The tracks are made of Copper, Nickel, and Zinc. It is Zinc that gives the tracks the "silver " appearance, hence the name Nickel-Silver. Although there can be several different percentages of the alloy mix, the most common is 65-18, or NS106. This means…65% copper, 18% nickel, and 17% zinc. The oxide that forms on this alloy IS CONDUCTIVE. However, it has a higher resistance to electrical current than “clean” surface, hence, keep your tracks clean.
The resistance of this alloy is 115 micro ohms /cm. A cm= 2.54 inches
Courtesy of Nigel.
A typical composition is:
“Copper 65%, Nickel 10% and Zinc25%.It is a member of the brass family”.
so its False Advertising nickle zinc track, just hasent got the money sound .
but nickle silver yummy $$$$$$ hmmmm
marketing gimmick
J/k
Actually it’s an old metallurgists name…to distinguish it from actual silver…kinda like fool’s gold…it doesn’t have any gold in it. I think the name and the alloy goes back to sometime in the 1800s.
underworld
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Nickel silver is also known as German silver. I’m familiar with that compostion from being in the jewelry trade. Some formulations may also include some tin, cadmium, lead, or antimony.
underworld
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There are probably many things that have names that have nothing to do with their composition. I stand to be corrected by Underworld on this, but the gem hematite is also known as black Alaska diamond. I remember going into a jewlery store years ago asking for a black Alaska diamond ring for my wife. All the jewler heard was “diamond”, his face lit up and he started showing me real diamond rings costing thousands of dollars. His face fell when he finally realised what I wanted and had to show me rings costing only $100 or so. Or, it’s like the bacon bits that I like to sprinkle on my salads and baked potatoes. The packaging says “Contains no bacon.” Go figure! I guess we’d rather think of the rails as being silver-coloured than tin-coloured. Sounds much better.
Seamonster:
Thinking our rails were tin-colored instead of silver colored would make it hard to distingui***he scale track from “Tin-plate”. Besides, the no bacon “Bacon-Bits” is also cholesterol free which the real pieces of bacon are not.
Kinda like Non Fat Sour Cream (Cream is 50% butterfat). Margarine - found in the Dairy Case. Driving on a Parkway or parking in a Driveway… [:D]
Not entirely true, as brass is a copper - zinc alloy, which may contain small amounts of other elements. Nickel-Silver gets it color from the combination and percentage of zinc and nickel in the alloy.
Seamonster Better a Black Alaska diamond than an actual black diamond. Most actual black diamonds look bad. The corners are almost always chipped. Hematite is nice because it’s got that silvery shine to it. If you’d like something very black…try getting a piece of obsidian. 100s of times nicer looking than a real black diamond and 100s of times less in price!!!
underworld
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Oh yeah…let’s not forget…
JUMBO SHRIMP!!! [:p]
I’ll go with the German Silver theory.
Im half tempted to throw my LHS owner for a loop by asking for nickel zinc track next time I see him =)
German Silver makes it sound cool too! Makes people think that you have really expensive track!!!
underworld
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