1. Some examples of the phenomenon observed

During the retreat from Russia in 1812, which took place in the midst of a particularly harsh winter, Napoleon's armies, in addition to facing relentless pressure from the Russian armies, had to endure a strange event that had a particularly deleterious effect on the already low morale of the troops : the plague (some say the leprosy) of pewter. The soldiers' crockery and the buttons on their uniforms were made of tin. Under the influence of the intense cold prevailing at the time, the crockery and buttons began to crumble into dust, one after the other, like victims of an epidemic...

In the...