Babbitt, also called Babbitt metal or bearing metal, is any of several alloy

Alloy

An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...

s used for the bearing surface

Bearing surface

A bearing surface is a mechanical engineering term that refers to the area of contact between two objects. It usually is used in reference to bolted joints and bearings, but can be applied to a wide variety of engineering applications....

 in a plain bearing

Plain bearing

A plain bearing, also known as a plane bearing or a friction bearing is the simplest type of bearing, comprising just a bearing surface and no rolling elements. Therefore the journal slides over the bearing surface. The simplest example of a plain bearing is a shaft rotating in a hole...

.

The original Babbitt metal was invented in 1839 by Isaac Babbitt

Isaac Babbitt

Isaac Babbitt was in 1839 the inventor of a low-friction tin-based metal alloy, Babbitt metal, that is used extensively in engine bearings today.-References:...

 in Taunton

Taunton, Massachusetts

Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Other formulations were later developed (and Isaac Babbitt's exact formulation is not known with certainty). To deemphasize the term's eponym

Eponym

An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...

ous character, modern writers often lowercase it (babbitt metal—as with "diesel engine

Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

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