stainless

[Larry C Leung]

Induced Magnetic materials require the ability of the material to align
it's average electron orbits, and spins in one direction. Most alloy's
(metal mixtures in this case) tend to lock electron orbits, even though
there is no chemical bonding occuring, by locking locations within the
metals crystal lattice. It is this "locking" that produces the properties
of the alloys, hence iron alloyed with carbon becomes harder and less
ductile in steel, adding chromium and molybdenum hardens it further AND 
as it becomes more difficult to access reactive sites, chrome-moly steel
tends to be more resistant to corrosion than carbon steel. Stainless
steel alloys carry this even further, but GENERALLY, it also locks up the
domains so that they aren't capable of inductive magnetic alignment.
Certain stainless alloys are capable of such alignment, but as such, tend
to exhibit less of the other stainless steel properties. It's all a
compromise. 

the physics teacher (and ex-engineer)

On Sun, 5 Aug 2001 18:52:23 -0400 (EDT) richard bies
<bies at infobahn.icubed.com> writes:
>
>The magnetic properties of stainless depends in part on the heat 
>history
>of the piece -- the alloying metals move the eutectoid point, and 
>whether
>or not magnetic domains solidify can deoend upon how the cooling is
>effected.  In the stainless tableware we use everyday, the knife 
>blades
>and handles (formed differently and later joined, as with silver) 
>exhibit
>contrary properties.  This discovery at the dinner table (my kids 
>were
>still in school) let me to inquire while I worked for USSteel -- and I 
>got
>a pretty comprehensive answer from my friend in Research.  I imagine 
>it's
>covered in "The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel".
>
>r.m.bies
>
>
>
>