Tin

Tin is used in many alloys, most notably tin / lead soft solders, which are typically 60% or more tin, and in the manufacture of transparent, electrically conducting films of indium tin oxide in optoelectronic applications. Tin is used in the Pilkington process to produce window glass. In the Pilkington process, molten glass is poured onto a pool of molten tin. The glass floats on the surface of the tin and cools, forming solid glass with flat, parallel surfaces. Tin salts can be sprayed onto glass to make electrically conductive coatings. These can then be used to make panel lighting and frost-free windshields. Another large application for tin is corrosion-resistant tin plating of steel. Because of the low toxicity of inorganic tin, tin-plated steel is widely used for food packaging as tin cans