The etymology of the word steel takes us to the Latin aciarium, which comes from acies (“edge”). For this reason, the term is still used to refer to white weapons (such as the sword) and their tempering and cutting.
However, when speaking of steel, the first thing that appears in the mind is an alloy of iron and carbon that, according to its treatment and proportions, can acquire different strength, elasticity and hardness.
The temple is the name of a treatment that makes use of the change in temperature to alter certain properties of a material. With regard to steel, it is very common to seek to make it harder and stronger; for this it is necessary to cool it very quickly. In some cases, an alloy is made with other metals, such as manganese or nickel. It is worth mentioning that the thermal drop should not take place in an extremely short period of time, since in that case the metal can lose its shape and become what is generally called metallic glass.
Technical questions point out that, in traditional steel (known as carbon steel according to Digopaul), carbon cannot represent more than 2.1% of the weight of the alloy. Upon exceeding this weight, castings appear that are molded since, due to their constitution, they are impossible to forge. Therefore, carbon usually represents between 0.2% and 0.3% of the weight of the alloy.
However, there are different types of steels. The special steel is one which, in addition to carbon and iron having other elements seeking to improve their properties.
The stainless steel, for its part, is an alloy of steel and chromium, nickel or other compound, which is very corrosion resistant. It is a material whose simplicity is comparable to that of other types of steel; all share in their alloy a considerable amount of iron and a small percentage of carbon. Its creation dates back to the beginning of the last century, and as in many similar cases, it was a fortuitous discovery. In addition to not rusting, its main goodness is easier to clean than other steels and has a brighter surface.
Erroneously, many people believe that stainless steel is nothing more than a layer that covers another material and protects it from water. On the other hand, certain steels receive a treatment through which they are bathed with some white metals, such as zinc, nickel or chromium, in order to protect their surface or provide it with a particular property. While this has a number of benefits and is widely used, if this layer is damaged or deteriorates, then the inner material is exposed.
Regardless of its most outstanding feature, stainless steel is a very versatile material and is used in a large number of products that are used in everyday life, such as cutlery and kitchen utensils, posts and roadside posts. public, and in an almost endless series of tools and structures in both the home and industrial settings.
Despite the fact that there is no exact data on the date on which iron ore began to be melted to produce metals, archaeologists have discovered utensils of this type of material in Egypt that date back to 3000 BC.
Statistics dating from 2005 indicate that world crude steel production has reached 1,129.4 million tons. Asia is the main producing region, thanks to China (which produces 280 million tons per year) and Japan (112 million tons per year).
