Why does solder melt

Lead mealts at This article says that eutectic point solder, 63 percent tin, 37 percent lead, melts at degrees Fahrenheit, which is decrees Centigrade.

The Wikipedia article describes the broader class of alloys that are called solders as having melting points up to about C. If it is true that solder joints are weaker with lead-free solder, if I had the choice I would balk at demands to use lead-free solder. Too many safety-critical systems depend on electronics.

Anything that increases their failure rate can cause more danger to the public safety than the lead in the circuit boards. Solder joints fail all the time. They will fail more often if they are mechanically weaker. You can make alloys with a melting point that is below room temperature from bismuth, indium, and gallium; none of these metals are liquid at room temperature.

So yeah YT you were basically right. It says that solders have a melting point below Those with the higher melting points aren't the typicaly solder that most people think of. Its weak, poisonous, soft, and has a higher surface tension than all the other lead free things ive used. I believe that idea of disrupting the crystal lattice is in fact more subtle in that it is really only properly explained if a discussion of the entropic principle is included.

Silver solder is the king of pipe joints, but the higher melting tempreature degrees to over degrees F make it rather prohibitive to use with electronics. All those little junctions in semiconductor chips don't like heat too much. The less heat you use, the less chance you'll cook the chip. Hence, a high temperature needed to be achieved.

Though mercury has a low melting point, it is very toxic. Wow, people actually trade chemicals here? I dont posess any chemicals though, none that aren't readily availible. Where would I find some gallium, other than by breaking apart several hundred LEDs?

Ebay or maybe United nuclear, Or someone from here, I think quite have a little bit of it and would probably break some off for ya.

Unless you are comfortable with opening up your soldering iron and seeing what is wrong with the heating element, I recommend you take your soldering iron to a professional who can fix or replace the heating element for you. Possible issues why a soldering iron heating element might stop working could be that water could have seeped in and short circuited it. Soldering iron cord not plugged properly — The best way to fix this problem is to plug the soldering iron cord back into the power outlet.

If your soldering iron is placed on a desk but the power outlet is higher or lower, this can be an issue when connecting the power cord especially if the soldering iron has a shorter power cord. If the cord has no slack and has to reach awkward angles it is not going to make a proper connection with the power outlet.

Where possible try to connect your soldering iron power cord to a power outlet that is not too far away, and allow for some slack in the soldering iron power cord. Not enough time to heat up — Fixing this problem requires a bit of patience I know sometimes it is hard!

But, to avoid rushing to use the soldering iron before it has heated up, time how long it takes your soldering iron to reach the temperature where it starts to melt solder. That way next time you turn it on you will know exactly how long it will take eliminating your frustrations. Wrong solder — Buying the right type of solder for the soldering application will rectify this issue. You will first need to know what kind of soldering you are doing Soft, Hard or Brazing.

Then accordingly when you are buying solder, you will have to check what kind of soldering applications it is used for and its melting temperatures. Oxidation — If your soldering iron is heating up and still not melting solder, oxidation has most likely occurred to the tip of the soldering iron you might notice this visually as the soldering iron tip will be black.

To fix this issue scrape or sand off the oxide off the tip while it is off using an exacto knife or grit sandpaper till it has regained its shine. Once the tip is shiny, give it a good coat of flux if you have some. Once the soldering iron has heated up, coat the tip with some solder. If for some reason you cannot reverse the oxidation process, you might have to replace the tip of your soldering iron. Search for:. The main purpose of a soldering iron is to melt the solder. However, sometimes the soldering iron might have problems melting the solder.

Below are some possible problems: Heating element of soldering iron broken Soldering iron temperature not hot enough Soldering iron has not had enough time to heat up. Also, sometimes the soldering iron plug is not plugged into electrical outlet properly Low wattage soldering iron especially cheaper soldering iron Tip has been oxidized Using the wrong solder For a more detailed explanation for each reason read on. I will also highlight ways to fix the issue, as well as how you can avoid this happening again.

How a soldering iron melts solder Before we dive into the details of why your soldering iron is not melting solder, it will help to have a quick look at the different parts of a soldering iron.

Its composition varies depending upon the type. However, solder commonly consists of tin, lead, or both. It comes with various forms: stick, wire, and pellet. Wires are for normal soldering while both the pellet and stick solder are for solder-pots.

Although, you can also find solder available in paste, sheet, and pallions chips or clippings. Paste solder is a combination of small particles of solder blended with a paste flux. It is typically used by mass producers in machine soldering. A costly form of solder, though. You can use it for soldering intricate jobs e.

Solder is available in different colors, too — copper, gold, silver, bronze, or brass. The gold solder comes with various shades to compliment well with different alloys. On the other hand, the melting temperature of copper and brass solder also called brazing rod is high, not to mention they are brittle. Soft Solder : A tin-based solder that melts at a low temperature.

It is usually used for creating fuse base metal parts and custom base metal pieces of jewelry as well as repairing solder shut base metal jump rings and costume jewelry. This topic web suggests classroom activities on pollution in the water cycle, how water is cleaned and how we can use less of it.

Use this practical to investigate how solutions of the halogens inhibit the growth of bacteria and which is most effective. Site powered by Webvision Cloud. Skip to main content Skip to navigation. No comments. The experiment is conveniently carried out by groups of two and will take about 30 minutes.

Wear eye protection throughout. Be very careful to avoid coming into contact with molten drops of metal. Ensure good ventilation. It may be advisable for asthmatic students to work in a fume cupboard. Flux-free solder — it is important the solder is flux-free. Fumes produced when solder containing rosin-based flux is used, can irritate the respiratory system and in some cases has caused sensitisation. Procedure Show Fullscreen Source: Royal Society of Chemistry How to set up the equipment for melting tin, lead and solder over a Bunsen burner not pictured.