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Metals fall into two main categories:
those containing Iron (Fe) known as Ferrous metals
those that do not contain Iron known as Non-ferrous metals.
Essentially Iron is the only ferrous metal but, with the addition of other elements, it can be made into other metals.
When Iron is separated from its ore it is known as Pig Iron. This is a very high carbon Iron and is therefore very brittle and not useful as a building material.
It is often transferred within a foundry while still molten to be made into steel otherwise it is cast into ingots for transportation to be processed elsewhere.
Wrought Iron was traditionally used before the introduction of Steel as a building material for bridges, fencing, gates and structures as a large as the Eiffel Tower.
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Ferrous and Non-ferrous metals
Ferrous and Non-ferrous metals
Metals are made up of crystals that contain atoms and molecules.
Metals have good strength in both compression and tension, due to the very strong metallic bonds holding the atoms together.
These metallic bonds also allow free electrons to be shared amongst molecules making metals good conductors of heat and electricity.
All metals are extracted from Ores which are found in the earth.
As a result, they are considered a finite material (one day they will run out).
Ores need to be processed in order to extract the metal from the other minerals, rocks and soil.
25% of the Earth’s crust is made up of metal ores with Aluminium (Bauxite) being the most common followed by Iron.
Gold is the only metal that can be found in a usable form while the rest have to be processed.
The metals produced do not always reflect the name of the ore:
Metals have been used for thousands of years in the form of Copper, Bronze and Iron.
Metal materials such as Aluminum and Steel are considered more modern developments.
Steel is derived from Iron ore which is one of the easiest to separate from its ore using a blast furnace to melt the ore leaving the waste to float to the top.
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