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Steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, and sometimes other elements. Because of its high tensile strength and low cost, it is a major component used in buildings, infrastructure, tools, ships, automobiles, machines, appliances, and weapons.
Iron is the base metal of steel. Iron is able to take on two crystalline forms (allotropic forms), body centered cubic and face centered cubic, depending on its temperature. In the body-centered cubic arrangement, there is an iron atom in the center and eight atoms at the vertices of each cubic unit cell; in the face-centered cubic, there is one atom at the center of each of the six faces of the cubic unit cell and eight atoms at its vertices. It is the interaction of the allotropes of iron with the alloying elements, primarily carbon, that gives steel and cast iron their range of unique properties.
In pure iron, the crystal structure has relatively little resistance to the iron atoms slipping past one another, and so pure iron is quite ductile, or soft and easily formed. In steel, small amounts of carbon, other elements, and inclusions within the iron act as hardening agents that prevent the movement of dislocations that are common in the crystal lattices of iron atoms.
The carbon in typical steel alloys may contribute up to 2.14% of its weight. Varying the amount of carbon and many other alloying elements, as well as controlling their chemical and physical makeup in the final steel (either as solute elements, or as precipitated phases), slows the movement of those dislocations that make pure iron ductile, and thus controls and enhances its qualities. These qualities include such things as the hardness, quenching behavior, need for annealing, tempering behavior, yield strength, and tensile strength of the resulting steel. The increase in steel’s strength compared to pure iron is possible only by reducing iron’s ductility.
Steel was produced in bloomery furnaces for thousands of years, but its large-scale, industrial use began only after more efficient production methods were devised in the 17th century, with the production of blister steel and then crucible steel. With the invention of the Bessemer process in the mid-19th century, a new era of mass-produced steel began. This was followed by the Siemens–Martin process and then the Gilchrist–Thomas process that refined the quality of steel. With their introductions, mild steel replaced wrought iron.
Further refinements in the process, such as basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS), largely replaced earlier methods by further lowering the cost of production and increasing the quality of the final product. Today, steel is one of the most common manmade materials in the world, with more than 1.6 billion tons produced annually. Modern steel is generally identified by various grades defined by assorted standards organizations.
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Steal (verb)
To take illegally, or without the owner’s permission, something owned by someone else.
“Three irreplaceable paintings were stolen from the gallery.”
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Steal (verb)
To appropriate without giving credit or acknowledgement.
“They stole my idea for a biodegradable, disposable garbage de-odorizer.”
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Steal (verb)
To get or effect surreptitiously or artfully.
“He stole glances at the pretty woman across the street.”
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Steal (verb)
To acquire at a low price.
“He stole the car for two thousand less than its book value.”
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Steal (verb)
To draw attention unexpectedly in (an entertainment), especially by being the outstanding performer. Usually used in the phrase steal the show.
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Steal (verb)
To move silently or secretly.
“He stole across the room, trying not to wake her.”
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Steal (verb)
To withdraw or convey (oneself) clandestinely.
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Steal (verb)
To advance safely to (another base) during the delivery of a pitch, without the aid of a hit, walk, passed ball, wild pitch, or defensive indifference.
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Steal (verb)
To dispossess
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Steal (verb)
To acquire; to get
“Hold on, I need to steal a phone from the office. I’ll be back real quick.”
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Steal (noun)
The act of stealing.
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Steal (noun)
A piece of merchandise available at a very attractive price.
“At this price, this car is a steal.”
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Steal (noun)
A situation in which a defensive player actively takes possession of the ball or puck from the opponent’s team.
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Steal (noun)
A stolen base.
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Steal (noun)
Scoring in an end without the hammer.
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Steal (noun)
A policy in database systems that a database follows which allows a transaction to be written on nonvolatile storage before its commit occurs.
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Steel (noun)
An artificial metal produced from iron, harder and more elastic than elemental iron; used figuratively as a symbol of hardness.
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Steel (noun)
Any item made of this metal, particularly including:
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Steel (noun)
Bladed or pointed weapons, as swords, javelins, daggers.
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Steel (noun)
A piece used for striking sparks from flint.
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Steel (noun)
Armor.
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Steel (noun)
A honing steel, a tool used to sharpen or hone metal blades.
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Steel (noun)
Pieces used to strengthen, support, or expand an item of clothing.
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Steel (noun)
A flat iron.
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Steel (noun)
A sewing needle; a knitting needle; a sharp metal stylus.
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Steel (noun)
An engraving plate:
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Steel (noun)
Projectiles.
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Steel (noun)
A fringe of beads or decoration of this metal.
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Steel (noun)
Medicinal consumption of this metal; chalybeate medicine; (eventually) any iron or iron-treated water consumed as a medical treatment.
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Steel (noun)
Varieties of this metal.
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Steel (noun)
The gray hue of this metal; steel-gray, or steel blue.
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Steel (noun)
Extreme hardness or resilience.
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Steel (adjective)
Made of steel.
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Steel (adjective)
Similar to steel in color, strength, or the like; steely.
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Steel (adjective)
Of or belonging to the manufacture or trade in steel.
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Steel (adjective)
Containing steel.
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Steel (adjective)
Engraved on steel.
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Steel (verb)
To edge, cover, or point with steel.
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Steel (verb)
To harden or strengthen; to nerve or make obdurate; to fortify against.
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Steel (verb)
To back with steel.
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Steel (verb)
To treat a liquid with steel for medicinal purposes.
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Steel (verb)
To press with a flat iron.
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Steel (verb)
To cause to resemble steel in appearance.
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Steel (verb)
To steelify; to turn iron into steel.
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Steel (verb)
To electroplate an item, particularly an engraving plate, with a layer of iron.
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Steel (verb)
To sharpen with a honing steel.
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Steel (proper noun)
Coldbath Fields Prison in London, closed in 1877.
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Steal (verb)
take (another person’s property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it
“she was found guilty of stealing from her employers”
“thieves stole her bicycle”
“stolen goods”
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Steal (verb)
dishonestly pass off (another person’s ideas) as one’s own
“accusations that one group had stolen ideas from the other were soon flying”
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Steal (verb)
take the opportunity to give or share (a kiss) when it is not expected or when people are not watching
“he stole kisses in shop doorways”
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Steal (verb)
(in various sports) gain (an advantage, a run, or possession of the ball) unexpectedly or by exploiting the temporary distraction of an opponent
“he stole the ball from Kevin Scott to run on and score his seventh League goal”
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Steal (verb)
run to (a base) while the pitcher is in the act of delivery
“he claims he can steal a hundred bases this season”
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Steal (verb)
move somewhere quietly or surreptitiously
“a delicious languor was stealing over her”
“he stole down to the kitchen”
“she disobeyed a court order and stole away with the children”
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Steal (verb)
direct (a look) quickly and unobtrusively
“he stole a furtive glance at her”
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Steal (noun)
a bargain
“at £59.95 it’s an absolute steal”
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Steal (noun)
an act of stealing something
“New York’s biggest art steal”
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Steal (noun)
an idea taken from another work
“the chorus is a steal from The Smiths’ ‘London’”
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Steal (noun)
an act of stealing a base.
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Steal (noun)
an act of taking possession of the ball or puck from an opponent
“he finished with eight points, four steals, and seven assists”
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Steel (noun)
a hard, strong grey or bluish-grey alloy of iron with carbon and usually other elements, used as a structural and fabricating material
“steel girders”
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Steel (noun)
used as a symbol or embodiment of strength and firmness
“nerves of steel”
“a steel will”
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Steel (noun)
a rod of roughened steel on which knives are sharpened.
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Steel (verb)
mentally prepare (oneself) to do or face something difficult
“his team were steeling themselves for disappointment”
“she steeled herself to remain calm”