Tin is the element whose chemical symbol, Sn, comes from the Latin name “stannum.” The English name “tin” has Germanic roots, but its official symbol preserves the Latin word, much like Fe for iron from ferrum and Pb for lead from plumbum.
Tin is element 50 and belongs to group 14 of the periodic table, alongside carbon, silicon, germanium, lead, and flerovium. It is chiefly obtained from cassiterite, a mineral composed mainly of tin dioxide. Humans have used tin for thousands of years, especially mixed with copper to make bronze.
At room temperature, ordinary white tin is a soft, malleable metal. It has another allotrope, gray tin, which becomes more stable at low temperatures. Tin is also famous for the “tin cry,” a crackling sound produced when a tin bar is bent as its crystals deform. Common modern uses include solder, protective coatings, and alloys such as bronze.