Material properties

Iron is begin in the Earth's band alone in the anatomy of an ore, i.e., accumulated with added elements such as oxygen or sulfur.2 Typical iron-containing minerals accommodate Fe2O3—the anatomy of adamant oxide begin as the mineral hematite, and FeS2—pyrite (fool's gold).3 Adamant is extracted from ore by removing oxygen and accumulation the ore with a adopted actinic accomplice such as carbon. This process, accepted as smelting, was aboriginal activated to metals with lower melting points, such as tin, which melts at about 250 °C (482 °F) and copper, which melts at about 1,100 °C (2,010 °F). In comparison, casting adamant melts at about 1,375 °C (2,507 °F). All of these temperatures could be accomplished with age-old methods that accept been acclimated back the Bronze Age. Back the blaze amount itself increases rapidly above 800 °C (1,470 °F), it is important that admixture booty abode in a low-oxygen environment. Unlike chestnut and tin, aqueous adamant dissolves carbon absolutely readily. Admixture after-effects in an admixture (pig iron) absolute too abundant carbon to be alleged steel.4 The balance carbon and added algae are removed in a consecutive step.