# Steel
## Microsim
### Live player
<div class="microsim-player">
<iframe src="https://editor.p5js.org/sciencenibber/full/3OFg-Su8M" width="100%" height="620" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin"></iframe>
</div>
<div class="microsim-fallback">
<img src="Microsims/thumbs/Steel.png" alt="Steel microsim poster" style="width:100%;border:1px solid #4445;border-radius:6px;">
<p><em>Live microsim (desktop) · <a href="https://editor.p5js.org/sciencenibber/sketches/3OFg-Su8M">open sketch in the p5.js editor</a></em></p>
</div>
**Editor URL:** https://editor.p5js.org/sciencenibber/sketches/3OFg-Su8M
**Description (100 words):**
An interactive iron-carbon (Fe-C) equilibrium phase diagram. Drag the glowing state point -- or the **carbon** (0-2 wt% C) and **temperature** (0-1600 C) sliders -- across the map, and the live readout names the stable phases, applies the **lever rule** to give their percentages, and updates an estimated hardness. The eutectoid point (0.76 %C, 727 C) is marked, where austenite becomes 100% pearlite. A microstructure inset fills with proeutectoid ferrite grains and lamellar pearlite colonies in exactly the proportions the lever rule predicts, so you can see why a 0.2 %C structural steel is soft and ductile while a 0.8 %C rail steel is hard and strong. Reset restores room temperature.
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## Links (Wikipedia order)
<!-- injected from _registry/childlinks/Steel.json (2026-07-30T02:09:12Z) -->
`ASTM_International` · `Activation_energy` · `Aerospace` · `Alexander_the_Great` · `Allotropes_of_iron` · [[Alloy]] · `Alloy_steel` · [[Aluminium]] · `Aluminium_recycling` · `American_Iron_and_Steel_Institute` · `Anatolia` · `Anuradhapura` · `Appliance_recycling` · `Arabic` · `ArcelorMittal` · [[Architecture]] · `Armour` · `Asphalt_concrete` · `Assembly_line` · `Austenite` · `Automotive_oil_recycling` · `BBC_News` · `Bainite` · `Basic_oxygen_steelmaking` · `Battery_recycling` · `Bellows` · `Benjamin_Huntsman` · `Bessemer_process` · `Bethlehem,_Pennsylvania` · `Bicycle` · `Blacksmith` · `Blast_furnace` · `Block_(periodic_table)` · `Bloomery` · `Blue_bag` · `Blue_box_recycling_system` · `Boriding` · [[Boron]] · `Bottle_cutting` · `Bottle_recycling` · `Brandenburg` · `Bridge` · `British_Geological_Survey` · `British_Iron_Age` · `Bronze_Age` · `Cambridge_University_Press` · `Car` · [[Carbon]] · `Carbon-fiber_reinforced_polymer` · `Carbon_capture_and_storage` · `Carbon_steel` · `Carbonitriding` · `Carburizing` · `Case-hardening` · `Cast_iron` · `Casting` · `Cementation_process` · `Cementite` · `Charcoal` · `China` · [[Chromium]] · `Circular_economy` · `Classical_antiquity` · `Cleveland` · `Clock` · `Coal_mining` · `Coalbrookdale` · [[Cobalt]] · `Cogeneration` · `Coke_(fuel)` · `Compost` · `Concrete_recycling` · `Container-deposit_legislation` · `Continuous_casting` · `Continuous_track` · [[Copper]] · `Corporate_average_fuel_economy` · [[Corrosion]] · `Cotton_recycling` · `Crucible` · `Crucible_steel` · [[Crust_(geology)]] · `Cryogenic_hardening` · [[Cubic_crystal_system]] · `Cupola_furnace` · `Cutlery` · `Damascus_steel` · `Decarburization` · `Dematerialization_(products)` · [[Density]] · `Direct_reduced_iron` · `Downcycling` · `Drug_recycling` · `Ductile_iron` · `Ductility` · `Dumpster_diving` · `Durable_good` · `Eco-industrial_park` · `Ecological_design` · `Economic_development` · `Electric_arc_furnace` · `Encarta` · `Encyclopædia_Britannica` · `Energy_recycling` · `England` · `Ethical_consumerism` · `Etymonline` · `Extended_producer_responsibility` · `Ferrous_metallurgy` · `Finery_forge` · `Fluorescent_lamp_recycling` · `Forging` · `Forming_gas` · `Fracture` · `Freeganism` · `Furniture` · `Galvanization` · `Geiger_counter` · `German_Empire` · `Glass_recycling` · `Grain_growth` · `Graphite` · `Gray_iron` · `Green_Dot_(symbol)` · `Green_economy` · `Greenhouse_gas_emissions` · `Gun` · `Gypsum_recycling` · `Han_dynasty` · `Heat_treating` · `Heavy_equipment` · `Hematite` · `Henry_Bessemer` · `High-speed_steel` · `History_of_China` · `History_of_the_steel_industry_(1850–1970)` · `History_of_the_steel_industry_(1970–present)` · `Home_appliance` · `Horace` · `Hot-dip_galvanization` · `Hot_blast` · `I-beam` · `Iberian_Peninsula` · `India` · `Induction_hardening` · [[Industrial_ecology]] · `Industrial_furnace` · `Industrial_metabolism` · `Infrastructure` · `Ingot` · `Interchangeable_parts` · `Intermodal_container` · [[Iron]] · `Iron_Age` · `Iron_and_steel_industry_in_India` · `Iron_and_steel_industry_in_the_United_States` · `Iron_in_folklore` · [[Iron_ore]] · `Ironworks` · `Japan` · `Jewellery` · `Karnataka` · `Kerbside_collection` · `Land_recycling` · `Lathe` · `Latin` · [[Lead]] · `List_of_countries_by_steel_production` · `Louis_Uchitelle` · `Low-background_steel` · `Machinability` · `Machine` · `Magnetic_core` · `Magnetite` · `Major_appliance` · `Mangalloy` · [[Manganese]] · `Maraging_steel` · `Martensite` · `Mass_production` · `Material_flow_analysis` · `Materials_recovery_facility` · `Melting` · `Melting_point` · `Microstructure` · `Middle_Ages` · `Military_of_ancient_Rome` · `Mining` · `Mobile_phone_recycling` · [[Molybdenum]] · `Naples` · `Nature_(journal)` · `Netherlands` · [[Nickel]] · [[Niobium]] · `Nitriding` · [[Nitrogen]] · `Nuclear_weapons_testing` · `Nuremberg` · `Nutrient_cycle` · `Offshore_construction` · `Ohio` · `Oil` · `Open-hearth_furnace` · `Ore` · `Orthorhombic_crystal_system` · `Overhead_power_line` · [[Oxygen]] · `PET_bottle_recycling` · `Paint_recycling` · `Pallet_crafts` · `Paper_recycling` · `Passivation_(chemistry)` · `Pattern_welding` · `Pearlite` · `Pelletizing` · `Phase_(matter)` · `Phase_diagram` · [[Phase_transition]] · [[Phosphorus]] · `Pig_iron` · `Pittsburgh` · `Plastic_recycling` · `Precipitation_hardening` · `Precycling` · `Product_stewardship` · `Proto-Germanic_language` · `Puddling_(metallurgy)` · `Quenching` · `Radioactive_contamination` · `Radionuclide` · `Rebar` · `Reclaimed_lumber` · `Reclaimed_water` · `Recrystallization_(metallurgy)` · `Recycling` · `Recycling_bin` · `Recycling_by_material` · `Recycling_by_product` · `Recycling_codes` · `Recycling_in_Australia` · `Recycling_in_Brazil` · `Recycling_in_Canada` · `Recycling_in_Israel` · `Recycling_in_Japan` · `Recycling_in_Malaysia` · `Recycling_in_Mongolia` · `Recycling_in_Northern_Ireland` · `Recycling_in_Taiwan` · `Recycling_in_the_Netherlands` · `Recycling_in_the_Republic_of_Ireland` · `Recycling_in_the_United_Kingdom` · `Recycling_in_the_United_States` · `Recycling_rates_by_country` · `Recycling_symbol` · `Redox` · `Refill_(campaign)` · `Refrigerant_reclamation` · `Reinforced_concrete` · `Repairability` · `Repurposing` · `Resource_recovery` · `Reusable_packaging` · `Reuse` · `Reuse_of_bottles` · `Reuse_of_human_excreta` · `Reverberatory_furnace` · `Reverse_vending_machine` · `Right_to_repair` · `Robert_Hadfield` · `Rockwell_hardness_test` · `Rolling_(metalworking)` · `Room_temperature` · `Russia` · `Rust_Belt` · `SAE_steel_grades` · `Sangam_literature` · `Scrap` · `Screw` · `Second_Industrial_Revolution` · `Shear_stress` · `Sheet_metal` · `Sheffield` · `Ship` · `Ship_disposal` · `Shipbuilding` · [[Silicon]] · `Simple_living` · `Slag` · `Smelting` · `Song_dynasty` · `South_Asia` · `Space_station` · `Spacecraft` · `Spring_(device)` · `Spring_steel` · `Sri_Lanka` · `Stadium` · `Stainless_steel` · `Standards_organization` · `Steel_frame` · `Steel_industry_in_China` · `Steel_industry_in_the_United_Kingdom` · `Steel_mill` · `Steelmaking` · `Stockholm` · `Stress_(mechanics)` · `Structural_steel` · `Tamil_Nadu` · `Tanzania` · `Tempering_(metallurgy)` · `Tetragonal_crystal_system` · `Textile_recycling` · `The_Globe_and_Mail` · `The_Hindu` · `Three-point_flexural_test` · `Timber_recycling` · [[Tin]] · `Tinning` · `Tire_recycling` · [[Titanium]] · `Tool` · `Tool_steel` · `Train` · [[Tungsten]] · `Ultrasonic_testing` · `United_States` · `United_States_Geological_Survey` · `United_States_Government_Publishing_Office` · `Upcycling` · [[Vanadium]] · `Vehicle_armour` · `Vehicle_recycling` · `Warring_States_period` · `Washing_machine` · `Waste` · `Waste-to-energy` · `Waste_collection` · `Waste_hierarchy` · `Waste_management` · `Waste_management_in_Switzerland` · `Waste_management_law` · `Waste_minimisation` · `Waste_picker` · `Waste_sorting` · `Watch` · `Water_heat_recycling` · `Water_recycling_shower` · `Weapon` · `Weathering_steel` · `Welding` · `Widmanstätten_pattern` · `Wire` · `Wishcycling` · `Wootz_steel` · `Work_hardening` · `World_War_II` · `Wrought_iron` · `Yellow_grease` · `Yield_(engineering)` · `Young's_modulus` · `Zero_waste` · [[Zinc]] · `Zosimos_of_Panopolis`
## From the Real GENERATIVE library
*Steel — placed from the Real G.E.N.E.R.A.T.I.V.E. course library (STEM and Music room). Source: Wikimedia Commons (via Wikipedia article media). [Details & license](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%A0%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D1%87%D1%83%D0%B3%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%B0.jpg).*
> Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon with improved strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Because of its high tensile strength and low cost, steel is one of the most commonly manufactured materials in the world. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel))
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## From the vault media library
!Steel thumb.png
*Steel — from the vault's own media holdings, placed 2026-07-09. MTN / Wikitube.io original · CC BY-SA 4.0.*
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> **Room:** [[Helium]] · **Status:** ✅ shipped
## Overview
**Steel** is an alloy of iron and carbon -- carbon below about 2.1 wt% -- and the most widely used structural material on [[Earth]], because that single composition knob, combined with heat treatment, spans an enormous range of strength, hardness and toughness. The behaviour is read straight off the **iron-carbon phase diagram**. At high temperature carbon dissolves in face-centred-cubic **austenite** (gamma iron); on slow cooling below the A3 line, body-centred-cubic **ferrite** (alpha iron, nearly pure) rejects carbon, which precipitates as hard, brittle iron carbide (**cementite**, Fe3C). At the **eutectoid** point -- 0.76 wt% C, 727 C -- austenite transforms entirely into **pearlite**, the lamellar ferrite-cementite stack that gives plain-carbon steel its characteristic strength. A hypoeutectoid steel (the common 0.1-0.6 %C structural grades) is proeutectoid ferrite plus pearlite; a hypereutectoid steel adds a cementite network along the grain boundaries. The relative amounts of each constituent are fixed by the **lever rule** on the relevant tie-line, and hardness rises monotonically with carbon and pearlite content -- the chain from [[Alloy|alloying]] through microstructure to properties that underpins Material testing, Tensile strength, [[Fatigue_(material)]], Creep (deformation) and [[Fracture_mechanics]]. Steel's grain size and Dislocation [[Density|density]] supply further Hall-Petch and work-hardening levers, while [[Corrosion]] and Stress corrosion cracking set its service limits. Within the Helium room, steels are the workhorse of cryogenic [[Engineering|engineering]]: austenitic stainless grades stay tough down to 4.2 K for cryostats, [[Superconducting_magnet]] formers and [[Liquid_helium]] vessels, and the welds joining them are qualified by [[Helium_mass_spectrometer|helium leak testing]] -- the most sensitive [[Leak_detection]] standard there is.
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*Built to the [[WT!P5_js_Microsim_Master_Class|p5.js Master Class]].*
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## Wikipedia : Wikitube
**Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Steel)
## Previous hub tags
Tree parents: [[Hydrogen]] · [[Oxygen]].
Legacy hubs: none.
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*Sources: 1 legacy note. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*