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1,000-Year-Old Precursor to Stainless Steel Found in Iran

Started by Imperial Dave, October 01, 2020, 02:33:43 PM

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Jim Webster

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

Imperial Dave

I did wonder that Jim...however, many accidents lead onto leaps of technology
Slingshot Editor

DougM

I'm also curious because of the reputation of Merv steel, and whether there was some form of methodology in tradition.
"Let the great gods Mithra and Ahura help us, when the swords are loudly clashing, when the nostrils of the horses are a tremble,...  when the strings of the bows are whistling and sending off sharp arrows."  http://aleadodyssey.blogspot.com/

DBS

Quote
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.
David Stevens