Re: "steel" vs "iron" [was:Re: Competing unions [was: Re: Native English]]

In message <dvgdb5$ggo$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Father Ignatius <FatherIgnatius@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
In news:OU+EJzVJogGEFwb7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
Paul Wolff <bounceme@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> typed:

Concrete may be only 20 percent cement; most of it is aggregate. The
sort of steel that is corrugated for sheeting is probably at least 95
weight percent iron, and fits the coffee test. Cast iron may have
less iron than steel has. Calling an iron alloy 'steel' rather than
iron only signifies that it has been processed to a more controlled
condition than the crude metal, though it must have some carbon or
metal alloy to differentiate it from soft iron.

I'm a bit troubled about the term "soft iron" in this context as, IIRC,
cast- and wrot-iron are harder than steel, in the sense (of no other) or
being brittle. AFAIK, "soft iron" means orin that loses its magnetism
quickly, i.e. inapposite here.

By 'soft iron' I meant nearly pure iron, saving one word, as I thought at the time. Cast iron is quite carbon-rich, a reason for its potentially having less iron than steel does. Wrought iron doesn't have any particular composition range by definition, but is likely to have one in practice. Soft iron has very little carbon and very little of anything else. Its magnetic properties are consequently similar to those of elementary iron. They don't bear on the discussion of iron versus steel nomenclature.
--
Paul
In bocca al Lupo!
.

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