Editing Lead (section)

=== Elemental form ===
Lead metal has several useful mechanical properties, including high density, low melting point, ductility, and relative inertness. Many metals are superior to lead in some of these aspects but are generally less common and more difficult to extract from parent ores. Lead's toxicity has led to its phasing out for some uses.{{sfn|Baird|Cann|2012|pp=537–538, 543–547}}

Lead has been used for bullets since their invention in the Middle Ages. It is inexpensive; its low melting point means small arms ammunition and shotgun pellets can be cast with minimal technical equipment; and it is denser than other common metals, which allows for better retention of velocity. It remains the main material for bullets, alloyed with other metals as hardeners.{{sfn|Ramage|1980|p=8}} Concerns have been raised that lead bullets used for hunting can damage the environment.{{efn|California began banning lead bullets for hunting on that basis in July 2015.{{sfn|California Department of Fish and Wildlife}}}} [[Shotgun]] [[Shotgun cartridge|cartridges]] used for [[waterfowl hunting]] must today be lead-free in the [[United States]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-19 |title=Nontoxic Shot Regulations For Hunting Waterfowl and Coots in the U.S. {{!}} U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |url=https://www.fws.gov/story/2022-04/nontoxic-shot-regulations-hunting-waterfowl-and-coots-us |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=www.fws.gov |language=en}}</ref> [[Canada]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Environment and Climate Change |date=2018-04-05 |title=Moving towards using more lead-free ammunition |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/management-toxic-substances/list-canadian-environmental-protection-act/lead/using-more-lead-free-ammunition.html |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=www.canada.ca}}</ref> and in [[Europe]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Regulation - 2021/57 - EN - EUR-Lex |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/57/oj |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=eur-lex.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref>

Lead's high density and resistance to corrosion have been exploited in a number of related applications. It is used as [[ballast]] in sailboat keels; its density allows it to take up a small volume and minimize water resistance, thus counterbalancing the heeling effect of wind on the sails.{{sfn|Parker|2005|pp=194–195}} It is used in [[scuba diving]] [[diving weighting system|weight belts]] to counteract the diver's buoyancy.{{sfn|Krestovnikoff|Halls|2006|p=70}} In 1993, the base of the [[Leaning Tower of Pisa]] was stabilized with 600 tonnes of lead.{{sfn|Street|Alexander|1998|p=182}} Because of its corrosion resistance, lead is used as a protective sheath for underwater cables.{{sfn|Jensen|2013|p=136}}

[[File:Parc de Versailles, Bassin de Flore, Jean-Baptiste Tuby (1672-79) 07.jpg|right|thumb|alt=Yellow sculpture|A 17th-century gold-coated lead sculpture]]
Lead has many uses in the construction industry; lead sheets are used as [[architectural metals]] in [[Domestic roof construction|roofing material]], [[Cladding (construction)|cladding]], [[Flashing (weatherproofing)|flashing]], [[rain gutter|gutters]] and gutter joints, roof parapets.{{sfn|Think Lead research}}{{sfn|Weatherings to Parapets}} Lead is still used in statues and sculptures,{{efn|For example, a firm "...producing quality [lead] garden ornament from our studio in West London for over a century".{{sfn|Lead garden ornaments|2016}}}} including for [[armature (sculpture)|armatures]].{{sfn|Putnam|2003|p=216}} In the past it was often used to [[tire balance|balance the wheels of cars]]; for environmental reasons this use is being phased out in favor of other materials.{{sfn|United States Geological Survey|2017|p=97}}

Lead is added to copper alloys, such as [[brass]] and [[bronze]], to improve machinability and for its lubricating qualities. Being practically insoluble in copper, the lead forms solid globules in imperfections throughout the alloy, such as [[Grain boundary|grain boundaries]]. In low concentrations, as well as acting as a lubricant, the globules hinder the formation of [[swarf]] as the alloy is worked, thereby improving machinability. Copper alloys with larger concentrations of lead are used in [[Bearing (mechanical)|bearings]]. The lead provides lubrication, and the copper provides the load-bearing support.{{sfn|Copper Development Association}}

Lead's high density, atomic number, and formability form the basis for use of lead as a barrier that absorbs sound, vibration, and radiation.{{sfn|Rich|1994|p=101}} Lead has no natural resonance frequencies;{{sfn|Rich|1994|p=101}} as a result, sheet-lead is used as a sound deadening layer in the walls, floors, and ceilings of sound studios.{{sfn|Guruswamy|2000|p=31}} [[Organ pipe]]s are often made from a lead alloy, mixed with various amounts of tin to control the tone of each pipe.{{sfn|Audsley|1965|pp=250–251}}{{sfn|Palmieri|2006|pp=412–413}} Lead is an established [[lead shielding|shielding]] material from [[ionizing radiation|radiation]] in nuclear science and in X-ray rooms{{sfn|National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements|2004|p=16}} due to its denseness and high [[attenuation coefficient]].{{sfn|Thornton|Rautiu|Brush|2001|p=7}} Molten lead has been used as a coolant for [[lead-cooled fast reactor]]s.{{sfn|Tuček|Carlsson|Wider|2006|p=1590}}