Stainless Steel
Alloys · Common · Modern
Steel alloyed with at least 10.5% chromium, which forms a self-healing passive oxide layer that prevents corrosion. The defining metal of modern kitchens, hospitals and industry, ubiquitous because it combines iron's strength with permanent freedom from rust.
Identity
- Source
- Modern alloy: iron, chromium, nickel
- Made from
- Chromium, Iron, Nickel
- Aliases
- Inox, Rustless steel, Chromium steel
Physical Properties
- Appearance
- Bright silver-grey, mirror-like when polished, resists rust and staining indefinitely under normal conditions
- Luster
- Metallic
- Density
- 7.9 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 1400 °C
- Boiling point
- 2800 °C
- Lighter
- Iron
- Denser
- Atium
- Magnetism
- Non-magnetic
- Electrical conductivity
- Low
Mechanical Properties
- Mohs hardness
- 5.5
- Tensile strength
- 580 MPa
- Softer
- Orium
- Harder
- Celestial Siderite
- Workability
- Moderate
- Brittleness
- Tough
- Malleability
- Moderate
- Ductility
- High
Chemical Properties
- Corrosion resistance
- very high
- Reactivity
- low
Lore & Narrative
Discovered accidentally in 1913 by Sheffield metallurgist Harry Brearley, who was seeking a corrosion-resistant alloy for gun barrels. He noticed that chromium-steel samples he had discarded as failures were not rusting. The cutlery industry was transformed within a decade.
- Notable uses
- Cutlery, surgical instruments, food processing, architecture, automotive
- Forge uses
- cutlery, medical instruments, food equipment, architecture
- Worldbuilding traits
- hygienic, modern, ubiquitous, corrosion-resistant
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