Why does not stainless-steel rust?
What's the secret behind stainless-steel's capability to stay rust totally free? (Image credit: Liam Norris through Getty Images)
Rust is a continuous risk to the iron all around us, which easily oxidizes in both air and water. Even steel-- a difficult alloy of iron with traces of carbon-- quickly rusts, which indicates oxidation damages the steel in structures, vehicles and devices.As its name recommends, stainless steel does not appear to rust. What's its trick?In other words, the chemistry of stainless-steel keeps oxygen in the air and environment from reaching the iron in steel, avoiding the damaging oxidation response.Routine steel rusts when iron chemically responds with oxygen to form iron oxide. Rust normally isn't damaging to people, it can significantly rust iron and ...