A little more about Steel...

The material Steel has been used throughout this blog. I think it's about time I clarified what Steel exactly is!

Steel is not just a natural material. It is in fact, an alloy. The term Alloy, is used to describe a material that has been made up of various other materials. Steel consists mainly of Iron. Iron is not that strong as a single substance, by adding other metals to this iron, we produce steel. This steel can be up to a thousand times strong than the original steel!

Above, a photo of pure Iron.



I mentioned the Iron is bonded with other materials, Carbon essentially. Steel typically will have a carbon content ranging from 0.2% to 2.1% pending on weight and quality. Carbon acts and a hardening element, this prevents dislocations in the atomic structure.

Other materials added into the Steel alloy, usually contain the following, Manganese, Chromium, Vanadium and Tungsten. Each are usued to offer different properties to the steel. These can vary from

• Hardness - Ability to stop deforming when a force is applied.

• Ductility - Ability to deform elastically without fracture

• Tensile strength - Amount of stress the material will take without rupture.

With that in mind, different percentages of each material, is used to create the ideal steel for the job.



















A sword, for example, must be lightweight, have a high tensile strength, but, ideally, not bend! (Where as a spring, should be very ductile!)