A soft, white transition metal that quickly tarnishes to a blue-grey appearance. Zinc is used widely in the manufacture of dry batteries and in the production of alloys such as brass and solder. It is alloyed with aluminium to give the aluminium properties suitable for die casting . Zinc is also used for galvanizing or sherardizing iron. Zinc oxide is used as a white paint pigment that does not blacken in hydrogen sulphide, as a filler for automobile tyres and other rubber goods, and in medicinal ointments for skin irritations.
Zinc chloride can serve as a flux for soldering and as a wood preservative.
Zinc sulphate is used in the production of the white paint pigment lithopone. Zinc is an essential trace element in the growth of human beings and animals. Oxford University Press 2. galvanizing Oxford Paperback Encyclopedia 3. Brass Oxford Dictionary of Music 4. The Penguin Dictionary of Music 5.