Profile
Settings
Refer your friends
Sign out
Iron is an atomic number 26 element with the symbol Fe. It is a transition metal from the first transition series of the periodic table’s group 8. It is the most abundant element on Earth in terms of mass, just ahead of oxygen (32.1 per cent vs 30.1 per cent, respectively), and it makes up a large portion of the planet’s outer and inner core. It is the fourth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust.
The discovery of iron
Iron items going back to roughly 3500 BCE have been discovered in Egypt. They have a nickel content of roughly 7.5 per cent, indicating that they were formed by a meteor. Around 1500 BCE, the ancient Hittites of Asia Minor, which is now Turkey, were the first to process iron from its ores, giving them economic and political supremacy. The Iron Age had officially begun. Some types of iron are believed to have been better than others based on their carbon concentration. Vanadium was found in certain iron ore, resulting in Damascene steel, which is suitable for swords.
René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, who authored a treatise on the subject in 1722, was the first to explain the numerous forms of iron. This detailed how the quantity of charcoal (carbon) in steel, wrought iron, and cast iron could be identified. This metal was heavily used throughout the Industrial Revolution, which began in the same century.
Extraction of iron
Iron is generally extracted from its ore which is known as haematite. The conventional method of extracting iron from haematite is by crushing it. The ore is placed on top of a blast furnace with a carbon source such as coke or calcium carbonate (limestone). Carbon monoxide is produced when coke is burned in the furnace. The iron ore is reduced to iron by carbon monoxide. At this point, the iron is liquid.
Calcium oxide and carbon dioxide are formed when calcium carbonate decomposes. Calcium oxide interacts with impurities like calcium silicate to form. This is referred to as slag. The molten iron floats with the slag on top. The iron is tapped out of the furnace’s bottom.
Physical properties
Iron is a grey or silvery-white metal. It is malleable and ductile. Ductile refers to a material that can be pulled into thin wires. Malleable refers to a material that can be hammered into thin sheets. It is one of just three magnetic elements found in nature. Nickel and cobalt are the other two metals.
The tensile strength of iron is really great. Tensile refers to the ability to stretch without breaking. Iron is also an extremely malleable metal. Workability refers to a metal’s ability to be bent, rolled, hammered, cut, shaped, formed, and otherwise worked into a desired shape or thickness.
Pure iron has a melting point of 1,538 °C (2,800 °F) and a boiling temperature of 2,862 °C (5,182 °F). It has a density of 7.874 g/cubic centimetres. Steel alloys can have different melting points, boiling points, and other physical qualities than pure iron.
Chemical properties
Iron is a very active metal.
In wet air, it mixes with oxygen and forms Iron oxide, usually known as rust.
Fe + O2+ H2O → Fe2O3
Iron produces hydrogen gas when it combines with extremely hot water and steam.
3Fe + 4H2O → Fe2O3 + H2
Iron dissolves in most acids and interacts with a variety of other substances.
Uses of iron
Iron is essential in our daily life as it has a wide variety of uses.
Construction: One of the most widely utilised metals on the planet is iron. It has several uses in the building sector. It is used to produce building tools and materials, for example. Metals were first utilised for ornamentation rather than for the construction of constructions. However, the building industry has progressed, and metals such as iron are now used to manufacture items such as nails and hinges.
Making magnets: Iron is used in making magnets. Iron, often known as magnetite, is a naturally occurring permanent magnet. Each atom of neutral iron has four unpaired electrons. Each electron is a very small magnet, but visible magnetic qualities need a large number of such tiny magnets virtually lined up in the same direction.
As a catalyst: Iron catalysts are used in a variety of chemical reactions to enhance or raise the pace of reaction. Iron is used as a catalyst to speed up the reaction, like in the Haber process. The Haber process is an industrial process that uses hydrogen and nitrogen as basic ingredients to make ammonia.
Uses in the human body: Iron is a trace element that is required for life. That is to say, it is essential and must be obtained from the diet. It is engaged in a lot of the body’s metabolic pathways. It is responsible for the transfer of oxygen as the core atom in haemoglobin (red blood pigment) and myoglobin. It also plays a vital role in cellular energy supply, DNA synthesis, and infection defence.
Why iron is the highest used metal in the world
There are a lot of reasons which make iron the highest used metal in the world.
It is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, with widely dispersed ores and a simple and inexpensive refinement process.
It is strong and simple to deal with. Iron is a relatively hard metal with strong tensile and compressive strengths (difficult to penetrate). Hand tools, on the other hand, may be used to cut, drill, weld, bend, shear, forge, grind, and etch it.
It can be lathed, machined, and cast using larger equipment. It can be moulded into practically any shape and will keep that shape even when stressed.
It’s adaptable. Iron has many alloys. Depending on the alloy and heat treatment, it can range from a very hard, brittle file to a soft, flexible baling wire.
