Properties of steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, often with the addition of other elements such as chrome, manganese or silicon. The term steel is used in particular for iron alloys with a carbon percentage of less than 1.9%, where the material is malleable when heated.
Many different types of steel
Many different alloys can be created, so there are many different types of steel. The mixture of iron and carbon with other elements determines the mechanical properties of the steel. Depending on the combination of alloy elements, the character of steel may be very different, ranging from very soft and malleable to hard, tending towards a brittle structure.
