ksircombeSep 2, 2025
Vote #Stibnite (Sb₂S₃) for #Mincup25 ⚒️🧪 because it was the likely source of antimony that literally wrote history. The chemical symbol for antimony is ‘Sb’ from ‘stibium’ the Latin for, you guessed it, #stibnite. Let's revisit a 🧵 from last year /1
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Show threadksircombe
You may recognise this fine fellow as Johann Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg, owner of an awesome beard and renowned inventor of the movable type printing press. One of his key innovations in printing was adding antimony (and tin) to lead to make type metal. /2
Sep 2, 2025 at 7:19amWeb
Show threadksircombeSep 2, 2025
Antimony hardens the lead and prevents shrinkage and deformation when the alloy cools from a melt in a mould to make the moveable type. It meant that high quality clear text could be repeatably printed on mass unlike previous printing that used carved wood blocks that deteriorated quickly /3
Show threadksircombeSep 2, 2025
It is not clear where Gutenberg sourced his stibnite, but it is clear that his invention created mass-produced books that revolutionised information transmission and set the stage for the Renaissance, Reformation, and humanist movements that underpin our modern world. Thanks #Stibnite! /4