Iron+and+Steel





= Iron =

__**Iron Properties **__
Type: Cast iron Ingredients: Iron with lots of carbon.

__**Iron Pros+Cons **__
 Strengths: Molds to any shape, strong in compression Weaknesses: Weaker than steel in tension, breaks without warning

__**Iron Applications **__
Arch bridges, cannons, historic domes = = ==

=Steel =

 Type: High-strength steel Ingredients: Iron with a touch of carbon

Strengths: One of strongest materials used in construction, strong in compression and tension
 Weaknesses: Rusts, loses strength in extremely high temperatures

Example: Sears Tower - Chicago, Illinois
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// Iron has been used since ancient times, though not as early as bronze or the other copper related alloys. Iron is ubiquitous in modern life; it is used primarily for its structural strength. Pure iron is soft (softer than aluminium), but the material is significantly strengthened by addition of minute amounts of impurities, such as carbon. Alloying iron with appropriate small amounts (up to a few per cent) of other metals and carbon produces steel, which can be 1,000 times harder than pure iron. Iron is smelted in a blast furnace, where ore is reduced by coke to metallic iron. //