[DL] Ghost Steel Metallurgy 101

["Daniel Gwyn" <dgwyn@colba.net>]

Hi,
    With all the talk of Ghost steel, I thought I would put in my two cents
worth as a failed Mechanical Engineer.
    First off, the thing that makes Iron such an interesting metal is that
depending on the percentage of Carbon and the temperature and various
additives, you can get an incredible range of properties.  Crude iron
contains a lot of impurities which make it an iffy metal.  Steel is made by
burning off those impurities.  The sneaky bit is making sure how much carbon
is left when you are finished.  Almost no carbon is mild iron as carbon
increases, then steel, high carbon steel, tool steel, then cast iron.  As
the carbon increases so does its strength and hardness and with hardness
comes brittleness.  High carbon percentages make iron less malleable.
Furthermore, adding small quantities of other chemicals can do interesting
things to steel.
    Second, there are many different ways in which steel and carbon atoms
can bond.  By heating and cooling steel, a skilled metallurgist can
radically alter the strength of the metal.  One example I heard of was a
scuba diver, who decided to repaint his steel tank with high temperature
enamel (i.e. the paint had to cure at high temperature).  When he filled the
newly repainted tank with air, the thing blew up.  Why?  Because the heat
treatment had ruined the temper.
    With Ghost rock as part of the steel smelting process, a marshal could
rule that some of the "spiritual carbon" in Ghost rock enters the steel and
alters the chemical composition of the steel making it stronger.  He could
also rule that having ghost rock as a source of heat, makes it easier to for
a blacksmith to give steel a temper.  One example of this, would be that it
is easy for him to know the exact temperature of a given part of the flame.
    Then again, the marshal could ignore all this and "just" say "It's
magic."
    ;-)
    As I said, my two cents worth.
          Daniel Gwyn

"And as I sit and talk with you I see your face go white.
The shadow hanging over me is no trick of the light.
The specter on my back will soon be free:
The dead have come to claim a debt from thee."

From "The Turkish Song of the Damned"
By the Pogues