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Contents

   



(Top)
 


1 Manufacture  





2 Applications  





3 See also  





4 References  





5 Further reading  














Goldbeater's skin






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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 


Goldbeater's skin is the processed outer membrane of the intestine of an animal, typically cattle, which is valued for its strength against tearing. The term derives from its traditional use as durable layers interleaved between sheets of gold stock during the process of making gold leafbygoldbeating, as a batch process producing many "leaves" at the same time. In the early modern production of airships, application of its high strength-to-weight ratio and reliability were crucial for building at least the largest examples.

Manufacture[edit]

To manufacture goldbeater's skin, the gut of oxen (or other cattle) is soaked in a dilute solution of potassium hydroxide, washed, stretched, beaten flat and thin, and treated chemically to prevent putrefaction. A pack of 1,000 pieces of goldbeater's skin requires the gut of about 400 oxen and is 1 inch (25 mm) thick.[citation needed]

Up to 120 sheets of gold laminated with goldbeater's skin can be beaten at the same time, since the skin is thin and elastic and does not tear under heavy goldbeating. The resultant thickness of gold leaf can be as small as 1 μm-thick.[citation needed]

Applications[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Marchant, Jo. "Buried by the Ash of Vesuvius, These Scrolls Are Being Read for the First Time in Millennia". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  • ^ Sykes, W.S. (1960), Essays on the First Hundred Years of Anaesthesia, Vol. 2, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh. ISBN 0-443-02866-4, p. 8.
  • ^ a b Steadman, Mark (2006-05-01). "The Goldbeater, the Cow and the Airship". MuseumsPosten, Post & Tele Museum Online Magazine. Copenhagen, Denmark. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  • ^ François Lebrun, "Les 'Funestes secrets'", Les Collections de l'Histoire, 2nd quarter 2006, p. 63. ISSN 0182-2411.
  • Further reading[edit]


    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Goldbeater%27s_skin&oldid=1219020160"

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    This page was last edited on 15 April 2024, at 07:40 (UTC).

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