Chemistry · Ch 1 — Metallurgy
Applications of Fe
Applications of Fe
Iron is one of the most widely useful of all metals, and its alloys turn up almost everywhere in engineering and daily life -- bridges, electricity transmission pylons, bicycle chains, cutting tools and rifle barrels are all named as typical uses. Cast iron specifically is used to make pipes, valves, pumps and stoves. Iron and its alloys/compounds are also used to make magnets. Among iron's alloys, several are singled out for their specialised properties: STAINLESS STEEL is highly resistant to corrosion and is used in architecture, bearings, cutlery, surgical instruments and jewellery; NICKEL STEEL is used for making cables, automobiles and aeroplane parts; and CHROME STEELS are used for manufacturing cutting tools and crushing machines. …
Worked out. A special-interest box on the Iron Pillar (also known as the Ashoka Pillar): 23 feet 8 inches high, 16 inches wide, weighing over 6000 kg, and around 1600 years old, yet it has resisted rusting all this time despite being plain iron. Explains that a protective film formed through a complex combination of the raw, unreduced iron present in the pillar and cycles of weathering, producing a thin uniform layer of misawite -- a compound of iron, oxygen and hydrogen that resists rust and gives the pillar its corrosion resistance -- standing as e …