What is the difference between ferrous non ferrous metals

Later the invention of bronze, a non-ferrous alloy of tin and copper, began the Bronze Age. Since then, humanity has designated uses for both metal types based on their strengths and weaknesses. Ferrous metals contain iron and are valued for their strength and durability. These characteristics make them staple materials within the construction industry. Ferrous metals are used to build industrial piping, railroad tracks, shipping containers, and many kinds of commercial and domestic tools.

Ferrous metals such as carbon steel are used in the tallest skyscrapers and the longest bridges. Most ferrous alloys contain a high amount of carbon. This makes them vulnerable to rust when they are exposed to moisture. The only two ferrous metals resistant to rust include wrought iron which resists rust due to its low levels of carbon and stainless steel which is protected from rust due to the presence of chromium.

Non-ferrous metals contain no iron. This group contains common metals like aluminum, and precious metals such as gold and silver. Due to the absence of iron, this metal family has a higher resistance to rust and corrosion, which makes them ideal for use in liquid pipes, roofing, gutters and outdoor signs. Non-ferrous metals generally are only attracted to a magnet when an electrical field is run through them, which polarizes their electrons.

Another key feature of ferrous metals is that they can be oxidized, which we commonly call rusting. Because of the polarity of iron, it is highly likely to lose an electron to other polar molecules such as water. This makes the iron atom more positive, and thus more likely to bond to the oxygen in water, creating iron III oxide. Iron III oxide is the powdery red metal we call rust. Some ferrous metals, such as stainless steel, do not rust.

This is because they have been combined with a nonferrous metal that balances the iron atom and makes it less likely to lose an electron and begin the process of forming rust. Nonferrous metals do not rust. A last distinguishing feature of ferrous metals is that they usually have very high tensile strength. Steel, for example, is one of the strongest metals in the world.

Tensile strength is the ability to undergo a great deal of force without breaking or deforming. This is due to a mixture of strength and flexibility. While there are some very strong non-ferrous metals, such as titanium, few metals are as capable of bearing weight or undergoing force as iron alloys. The most common ferrous metals are cast iron, wrought iron, alloy steel, and carbon steel, also referred to as structural steel.

Iron predates steel by hundreds of years. The latter being an alloy, invented by adding the former with carbon. Tensile, ductile, durable, and strong, iron is a heavy but soft material, with high thermal conductivity. Though for the most part, in terms of usage, iron has been replaced by its offspring, steel, a harder metal. Worldwide, carbon steel is the backbone of building and construction, and is quite possibly the most widely used material by engineers and in construction. Some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world are built with heavy carbon steel.

Ships and shipping containers, trains and train tracks, industrial piping, automobiles, trucks, fencing, nails, tools, and much more are made with ferrous metals. All ferrous metals must be anodized if it is to be exposed to the elements. On the other hand, the magnetic properties of ferrous metal are prized for sorting and recycling in the scrap metal industry and are even better for attaching postcards and grocery lists to refrigerator doors.

Non-ferrous metals have, too, been used since the dawn of civilization. Primary examples of non-ferrous metals are copper, aluminum, nickel, zinc, lead, and tin, but also precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.

Non-ferrous metals have advantages over ferrous metals because they are lighter in weight and more malleable.