https://gizmodo.com/1-000-year-old-precursor-to-stainless-steel-found-in-ir-1845145184
pretty interesting discovery
Quote from: Holly on October 01, 2020, 02:33:43 PM
https://gizmodo.com/1-000-year-old-precursor-to-stainless-steel-found-in-ir-1845145184
pretty interesting discovery
you wonder why they bothered, given that the phosphorus made the steel brittle. It almost sounds like an impurity; a bug, not a feature
I did wonder that Jim...however, many accidents lead onto leaps of technology
I'm also curious because of the reputation of Merv steel, and whether there was some form of methodology in tradition.
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you wonder why they bothered, given that the phosphorus made the steel brittle. It almost sounds like an impurity; a bug, not a feature
Or else, given that they are basing this off tiny fragments in charcoal residue and slag, whether they are jumping to a conclusion about its use in weapons and armour? The "unreferenced reference" to historical manuscripts that the steel was known to be brittle may mean that any use of it for such purposes was short-lived or reserved for ceremonial bling rather than the battlefield.