The Difference Between Steel and Iron

The Difference Between Steel and Iron

Do you know the difference between steel and iron? Both these materials have difference as well as similarities. Here are the main differences between steel and iron.

Iron

Iron and steel have many differences. In nature iron is an element and it’s found in our rocks and soil so it’s part of our earth one of our natural elements. Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. Our earth is made up of iron in the crust and in the core. Without iron our planet would simply not exist. Our body actually needs iron to function as well so it’s also a big part of humans too. When we process iron ore in a blast furnace we make pig iron which we turn into steel. When the carbon in this iron is further reduced it can be made into various alloys. We add silicon, chromium, and manganese to make these various alloys.

Steel

Steel is an alloy of both carbon and iron. Iron is found in a greater quantity in steel but you can also add other metals to steel so you have alloys with various properties. When you add chromium to steel you get stainless steel so the steel doesn’t rust easily and it can be used in many different ways. In industry we use steel all the time to build structures. Steel is stronger than regular iron and it has good compression as well as tension so it’s perfect for building structures and keeping them strong as well as sound.

 

 

We don’t know exactly how iron making began. It is believed that iron making began in Egypt around 3000 BC. It’s believed that the Greeks advanced this iron making and around 1000BC they had storing iron weapons. People made iron for many years and this was called wrought iron until about 1400AD. Once we passed the 14^th century we began to use furnaces in the process of smelting iron. We pushed iron to the top of the furnace and began to make metallic iron and then we added gases which were carbon rich to the iron. The metallic iron absorbs this gas and it was turned into pig iron. The end process was transformed into steel which we use today to make many things in our life.

Iron vs Steel

·         We call iron an element and steel is an alloy

·         We knew about iron since the beginning of our civilization but we discovered how to make steel much later on in our history

·         We make steel from iron and we cannot go out into nature and get steel it has to be made. Iron is a part our natural world and always will be.