Er, okay. Damascus steel, also called "Wootz steel", seems to have been made (in India, Sri Lanka, and China) by using a furnace powered by monsoon winds (I don't know, I just think that's cool for some reason). It produced almost pure steel and was known for its ability to hold an edge, maybe because of carbon nanotubes (whatever those are).
Alternately, it refers to a steel used in Middle Eastern sword-making in the, er, second millenium AD. These are I guess different types of steel, and Damascus here refers to the visible grain pattern. Maybe.
And stainless steel contains chromium, which forms an invisible layer of chromium oxide on the surface impervious to water and air and quick to reform when scratched.
Neat! Go, go, chromium oxide!
I think I want to put my eyes out. I really don't go anywhere to talk on the internet except here, TWOP and livejournal, but I have become obsessed with Gossip Girl, and I have read everything on TWOP, so I ventured out and there are twelve thousand posts with exclamation points and all caps and emoticons, when I want to talk about the symbolism of Blair's headband. Why do I like teen shows?????
Aluminum does the same thing (without needing to be in an alloy) - a thin layer of aluminum oxide quickly forms up exposure to the air, which prevents further oxidization (i.e. rust).
Go, go, chromium oxide!
This somehow got the song "Air" from Hair in my head...
Hello, carbon dioxide....
I just saw that! It says, "According to the apparent thermodynamics of the reaction, an aluminum airplane could dissolve in a rainstorm ...[but it doesn't] due to the formation of a thin, adherent layer of aluminum oxide." So... sometimes oxidation is what protects it from corrosion, sometimes oxidation is the corrosion? I'm a little confused.
For anyone who missed last night's Daily Show, Samantha Bee has a statement to make, with her husband at her side.
I didn't realize that she and Jason Jones were married until last night.
I thought the pearls were just the right touch for him.
I love Gossip Girl too, Sophia, but I have to avoid the talk about it places that aren't my friends list.
We should start talking about here! I think smonster and a few others watch it too.
I really hope I'm never involved in a stupid, embarrassing scandal. I'd have to stop watching the Daily Show.
