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About Iron.

Iron, symbol Fe and atomic number 26, is the most common element on Earth and crucial for forming the planet's core. It is primarily extracted from ores using high-temperature furnaces and is essential for creating various iron alloys, including steel, which are vital in industry. Iron is also important for human health, being a key component of hemoglobin, though deficiency can lead to anemia.

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0 views3 pages

About Iron.

Iron, symbol Fe and atomic number 26, is the most common element on Earth and crucial for forming the planet's core. It is primarily extracted from ores using high-temperature furnaces and is essential for creating various iron alloys, including steel, which are vital in industry. Iron is also important for human health, being a key component of hemoglobin, though deficiency can lead to anemia.

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foresawyer28
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Iron.

Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe (from Latin ferrum ‘iron’) and
atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and
group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on
Earth, forming much of Earth’s outer and inner core. It is the fourth most
abundant element in the Earth’s crust, being mainly deposited by meteorites
in its metallic state.

Extracting usable metal from iron ores requires kilns or furnaces capable of
reaching 1,500 °C (2,730 °F), about 500 °C (900 °F) higher than that
required to smelt copper. Humans started to master that process in Eurasia
during the 2nd millennium BC and the use of iron tools and weapons began to
displace copper alloys – in some regions, only around 1200 BC. That event is
considered the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. In the modern
world, iron alloys, such as steel, stainless steel, cast iron and special steels,
are by far the most common industrial metals, due to their mechanical
properties and low cost. The Iron and steel industry is thus very important
economically, and iron is the cheapest metal, with a price of a few dollars per
kilogram or pound.

Pristine and smooth pure iron surfaces are a mirror-like silvery-gray. Iron
reacts readily with oxygen and water to produce brown-to-black hydrated
iron oxides, commonly known as rust. Unlike the oxides of some other metals
that form passivating layers, rust occupies more volume than the metal and
thus flakes off, exposing more fresh surfaces for corrosion. Chemically, the
most common oxidation states of iron are iron(II) and iron(III). Iron shares
many properties of other transition metals, including the other group 8
elements, ruthenium and osmium. Iron forms compounds in a wide range of
oxidation states, −4 to +7. Iron also forms many coordination complexes;
some of them, such as ferrocene, ferrioxalate, and Prussian blue have
substantial industrial, medical, or research applications.

In the universe, iron ranks as the tenth most abundant element, and it exists
in significant quantities in the Earth’s core, where it remains in a molten
state due to the extreme heat and pressure. Iron is crucial in forming much
of the Earth’s inner and outer core and ranks as the fourth most common
element in the Earth’s crust.

In its pure form, iron is a silvery-white metal known for its ability to retain a
magnetic field and dissolve small amounts of carbon when molten, producing
steel. Commercial refining of iron involves heating iron oxides like Fe₂O₃ or
Fe₃O₄ (magnetite) with other substances in a high-temperature blast furnace,
where the oxides are reduced to pure iron. Small amounts of carbon and
other metals are added to molten iron to harden it, and iron castings or
forgings can be heat-treated to optimise various physical properties
depending on the solid phases of iron.

On the other hand, pure iron easily combines with moisture and oxygen to
cause harmful corrosion. Steel and other iron alloys need to be protected
from structural degradation with coatings or paints.

Iron can be found in meat, whole meal products, potatoes and vegetables.
The human body absorbs iron in animal products faster than iron in plant
products. Iron is an essential part of hemoglobin; the red colouring agent of
the blood that transports oxygen through our bodies.

Iron may cause conjunctivitis, choroiditis, and retinitis if it contacts and


remains in the tissues. Chronic inhalation of excessive concentrations of iron
oxide fumes or dusts may result in development of a benign pneumoconiosis,
called siderosis, which is observable as an x-ray change. No physical
impairment of lung function has been associated with siderosis. Inhalation of
excessive concentrations of iron oxide may enhance the risk of lung cancer
development in workers exposed to pulmonary carcinogens. LD50 (oral, rat)
=30 gm/kg. (LD50: Lethal dose 50. Single dose of a substance that causes
the death of 50% of an animal population from exposure to the substance by
any route other than inhalation. Usually expressed as milligrams or grams of
material per kilogram of animal weight (mg/kg or g/kg).)
A more common problem for humans Is iron deficency, which leads to
anaemia. A man needs an average daily intake pf 7 mg of iron and a woman
11 mg; a normal diet will generally provided all that is needed.

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