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And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath,
of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his
head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five
thousand shekels of bronze. And he had greaves of bronze upon his legs, and a
javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
1 Samuel 17:1-6 (Revised Standard Version)
4.1 BRONZE
Several different metals can be mixed with copper to make a useful alloy. Tin has been
the most commonly used alloying element, but arsenic, antimony and lead have also been used.
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4.2 STEEL
PROCESSING
Iron is easily found in the earth's crust, but pure iron is not a very useful material because
it rusts easily. It also has such a high melting point that it cannot easily be shaped by casting.
Through a fortunate coincidence carbon, the element used to reduce iron ore, forms a very useful
alloy with iron: steel. Carbon atoms are small enough to fit into the interstices of an iron lattice.
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panels would have been. Although aluminum was available, it was more expensive and harder
to paint than steel. In the 1910's and 1920's automobile manufacturers developed techniques for
mass production; machines were created to stamp or press body panels out of sheet steel,
reducing labor costs. Some designers tried making body panels out of papier mache or plaster
coated wire, even colorful fabrics, but steel was the standard for decades.
A new method for forming metals, powder metallurgy, developed to meet the needs of
the automobile industry. Metal powders are mixed in the desired proportions, put into a die (a
precision mold), and pressed. The shaped material is ejected from the die and put into a furnace.
To allow metallic bonds to form within the sample, the object is sintered: heated at a
temperature just below its melting point. The atmosphere in the furnace is controlled to limit
exposure to oxygen and other chemicals that could contaminate the sample. Sintered objects can
have a very smooth surface with precise details.
Heat treatments such as forging increase the strength of steel. The grains of the metal
sample are aligned; a preferred orientation can be selected to maximize strength in the direction
that will be stressed. Since iron and steel have low coefficients of thermal expansion, the size of
the object does not change much. Modern steels receive more sophisticated heat treatments than
those possible at a blacksmith's forge. Furnaces provide precise temperatures for precise lengths
of time. Cooling rates (quenching with water or cold air) are also controlled to achieve desired
properties.
Pieces of steel may be connected by welding. Electric current or heat melts the metal at
the interface of the two pieces. Upon cooling they merge into one object. Since the crystal
structures are disturbed during the melting and cooling, welds tend to be weak points. Another
concern is that impurities such as oxygen could be acquired from the surroundings during the
welding process.
VARIATION OF PROPERTIES WITH COMPOSITION
It has already been observed that the properties of steel are very sensitive to its carbon
composition. Small amounts of other metals can also be added to steel to modify its properties.
Henry Ford used vanadium steel for the 1908 Model T; adding only 1% vanadium made the steel
four times stronger, so less metal was needed; the car was lighter and cheaper.
Stainless steel is a very common alloy with approximately 10-20% chromium, and less
than 1% nickel. The chromium protects the steel from oxidation. Stainless steel can be sterilized
in high pressure steam without deforming, making it very useful for food and medical
applications.
Tungsten carbide steel is one of the hardest materials known. A common recipe includes
18% tungsten. It can handle very high temperatures without softening or losing sharpness,
probably because tungsten itself has a very high melting point. This alloy is used to make
machine tools, pieces of steel that are used to cut other metals. They generate a lot of friction,
and heat, while operating at high speeds. Tungsten carbide tools will not wear down as quickly
as other materials. Tool steel objects are formed using powder metallurgy.
HSLA (high strength low alloy) steels contain much less carbon than a typical steel,
perhaps 0.5%. Up to 1.5% manganese plus small amounts of other transition metals including
vanadium, chromium, nickel, copper, and molybdenum can be used to provide strength,
toughness, and corrosion resistance.
Modern steelmaking has adapted to recycle scrap metal, and to work with low grade iron
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ores (containing compounds in addition to iron oxide). Since nonmetallic elements (other than
carbon) can diminish the properties of steel, refineries adjust their chemical reactions to control
the composition of the final product. One example is the Basic Oxygen Steelmaking Process,
designed to handle ores with phosphorus or sulfur. Liquid pig iron (from a blast furnace) can be
transferred to a vessel, along with scrap iron and steel. Oxygen is blown onto the hot metal
where it reacts with carbon and silicon. These reactions produce heat, melting the scrap metal.
Carbon monoxide gas will escape through the air; silicon dioxide forms an insoluble slag floating
on the liquid metal. The "basic" part of the process involves a special lining, made of MgO. The
lining is gradually worn away by hot metal, and reacts with any P or S in the molten iron to make
it part of the slag.
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Aluminum alloys may also be cold worked. Rolling and pressing distorts grains, and
reduces their size.
4.4 TITANIUM
could withstand higher pressures, allowing deeper dives. Since titanium was non-magnetic it
could also avoid magnetic mines and detection devices.
4.5 GOLD
Although pure gold is extremely valuable, it is too soft to be a useful material. Adding
metals of other sizes creates lattice defects, making the alloy less malleable.
The purity of a gold sample is reported in karats. 24 karat gold is the highest purity, at
least 99.9% gold. 14 karat gold, commonly used for jewelry, is 14/24 or 58.5% gold. Silver is a
common alloying element. A red colored alloy is produced by the addition of copper. White
gold can be prepared by adding nickel, palladium, platinum or rhodium.
4.6 MAGNETS
Materials are magnetic if their valence electrons align in a special way. This is most
likely to happen in transition metals, since they have many loosely held valence electrons. Iron,
cobalt and nickel are often magnetic. The earth's iron core makes it a giant magnet, and the
terms north and south are used to describe the two directions of a magnetic field. The north
pole of a magnet is attracted to the earth's North Pole.
Compounds can also be magnetic. An iron ore with the formula Fe3O4 found in
Magnesia, Turkey was called magnetite, and its name because associated with the unusual
property. In medieval times the rock was called lodestone (since it will "lead" north) and it was
used for navigation. People discovered that iron or steel needles could be rubbed on the rock to
acquire magnetization. These needles were made into navigational compasses.
Ceramic magnets such as iron, cobalt, and chromium oxides are manufactured by powder
metallurgy. Small particles can be mixed with polymers to make flexible refrigerator magnets,
or coated on plastic strips to make audio and video recording tapes. Strong magnetic fields are
applied during processing to align the fields of the particles. Deposition of thin films in a
vacuum chamber is used for computer hard drives.
Alloys can make very strong magnets. The first successful combination, aluminumnickel-cobalt, was discovered in the 1930's. Alloys containing rare earth elements are even more
successful. Samarium cobalt and neodymium-iron-boron are two common combinations.
In the early 1800's it was discovered that electric current running through coils of wire
creates a magnetic field. Electromagnets are used in electric transformers.
Magnetism may be lost when a material is heated. Upon heating the electrons gain
energy and can reorient, losing their special alignment.
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casting
north pole
quenching
south pole
welding
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die casting
powder metallurgy
sandcasting
steel