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Article: Steel
- Article from:
- Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Steel
Steel is an
alloy
of iron with about 1 percent carbon. It may also contain other elements, such as manganese. Whereas pure iron is a relatively soft metal that rusts easily, steel can be hard, tough, and corrosion-resistant. Used to make almost everything from skyscraper girders, automobiles, and appliances to thumb tacks and paper clips, steel is one of the world's most vital materials. Among all the metals, iron is second only to aluminum in natural abundance, making up 4.7 percent of the earth's crust, and occurring mainly as its various oxides. The main product made from iron is steel, the least expensive and most widely used of all metals.
History
It appears that ...