Cast Iron
Alloys · Common · Medieval
Iron carrying so much carbon, 2% to 4%, that it pours like thick soup and fills a mould down to the lettering. It cannot be forged: struck hard, it cracks instead of bending. A cast iron pan holds heat like a stone, and a cast iron cannon is one flaw away from killing its own crew.
Identity
- Source
- Historical alloy: iron and carbon (high content)
- Composition
- Iron, Carbon 2-4%, Silicon 1-3%
- Also known as
- Grey iron, White iron, Pig iron
- Ores, before industry and since
- Goethite (Iron), Hematite (Iron), Limonite (Iron), Magnetite (Iron), Siderite (Iron)
Physical Properties
- Appearance
- Dark grey to black, matte surface with a granular texture, extremely heavy for its size
- Luster
- Metallic
- Density
- 7.2 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 1200 °C
- Boiling point
- 2800 °C
- Lighter
- Chromium
- Denser
- Tin
- Magnetism
- Ferromagnetic
- Electrical conductivity
- Medium
Mechanical Properties
- Mohs hardness
- 5
- Tensile strength
- 170 MPa
- Softer
- Palladium
- Harder
- Inconel
- Workability
- Easy
- Brittleness
- Brittle
- Malleability
- Very Low
- Ductility
- Very Low
Chemical Properties
- Corrosion resistance
- Low
- Reactivity
- Moderate
Lore & Narrative
Chinese smiths mastered cast iron production over 2,000 years before Europeans, using it for agricultural tools and cookware from around 500 BC. European smiths only achieved the technique in the 15th century, when it was immediately applied to cannon founding.
- Notable uses
- Cookware, engine blocks, pipes, ornamental ironwork, historical cannons
- Forge uses
- cookware, Machinery, pipes, ornamental work
- Worldbuilding traits
- Heavy, brittle, heat-retaining, Historical
Sources
Browse the Metal Encyclopedia — MGS Toolbox