Tin foil

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Tin foil, also spelled tinfoil, is a thin foil made of tin. The term is also, as a misnomer, sometimes used to refer to aluminium foil.

Contents

History and use

Tin foil phonograph DSC01266 - A Delicate Balance (29773086657).jpg
Tin foil phonograph

Tin has been manually worked since ancient times, and forged tin foil sheets, intended for decorative purposes, are known from the Eastern Zhou period in China (7th-5th centuries BCE). [1] Much later examples of tin foil include 15th century English Yuletide decorations, [2] and incorporation into 14th-16th century Italian Renaissance paintings. [3]

Tin foil became commercially available from the 19th century in England and the US, for wrapping, decoration and mirror backings. [4] It was also used as a filling for tooth cavities [5] and for phonograph cylinders for audio recordings. [6]

After World War II, tin foil was largely replaced by cheaper and more durable aluminium foil. [7]

Tin foil hat

A tin foil hat is a hat made from one or more sheets of tin foil or aluminium foil, or a piece of conventional headgear lined with foil, worn in the belief or hope that it shields the brain from threats such as electromagnetic fields, mind control, and mind reading. The notion of wearing homemade headgear for such protection has become a popular stereotype and byword for paranoia, persecutory delusions, and belief in pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. Over time, the term has become associated with paranoia and conspiracy theories. [8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wang, Yingchen; Mei, Jianjun; Yu, Yongbin; Xiao, Chengyun; Xiang, Guanghua; Zhao, Dexiang; Chen, Kunlong (1 November 2019). "Imported or indigenous? The earliest forged tin foil found in China". Journal of Cultural Heritage. 40: 177–182. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2019.05.020. ISSN   1296-2074 – via ScienceDirect.
  2. ↑ Duffy, Eamon (1992). The Stripping of the Altars. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp.  14. ISBN   0-300-06076-9.
  3. ↑ Cavallo, Giovanni; Verda, Marcel (31 December 2009). "Gilding on wall paintings from a period between the 14th-16th centuries AD in the Lombard lake region". ArcheoSciences (33): 409–415. doi:10.4000/archeosciences.2545. ISSN   1960-1360 – via OpenEdition Journals.
  4. ↑ "Foiled: Tinsel Painting in America". Traditional Fine Arts Organization. 12 September 2012. Development of Metallic Foil. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  5. ↑ "History Of The Use Of Tin Foil Pre 1850". Informational Site Network. Home Dentistry.ca. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  6. ↑ The Encyclopedia Americana (Volume 22). Encyclopedia Americana Corporation. 1919. p. 792. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  7. ↑ A.M. Howatson, P.G. Lund, and J.D. Todd, Engineering Tables and Data, p. 41
  8. ↑ "Hey Crazy – Get a New Hat". Bostonist. 15 November 2005. Archived from the original on 3 May 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
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