Craft · 6 pages · 12 min
Why stainless steel resists rust
Enough chromium in the alloy grows a thin oxide film that blocks rust and heals in air.
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From the opening
Stainless steel resists rust because it contains enough chromium, more than about a tenth of the alloy, to cover itself with a very thin chromium oxide. That film clings, blocks oxygen and water from reaching fresh iron, and forms again after a scratch as long as oxygen is there to rebuild it. The opening covers chromium grows a passive oxide, the film repairs itself in air, and salt can still open pits.
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Inside
- Chromium grows a passive oxide
- The film repairs itself in air
- Salt can still open pits
- Plating only hides another core
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Chromium passive film on stainless steel
- Early chromium stainless alloys