Steel The Essential metal

Steel is a strong, sturdy metal that changed the course for civilization. Let's see how it's made...
Steel is made using open-hearths which are like giant furnaces with a large opening. They are typically 90 ft long and 30 ft wide.
Gasoline, oil and coal were used as fuel to generate the necessary high heat.
The downside with these open-hearths were that they take a looooong time to make steel and they create A LOT of pollution. This is bad for the environment.
Steel makes weapons sturdy so they are harder to break. The Europeans used this to their advantage. They made things such as armor to protect their armies and developed more specialized weapons besides just swords.
Steel weapons, such as this one called the silent death, led and aided the conquistadors to defeat the Inca. It also helped to conquer the Native Americans. The development of steel had a direct impact on the conquest of North America.
Nowadays, we have machines and blast furnaces that do all the hard work more efficiently and with less pollution. The pay off for civilization is that steel is now used for many more applications that truly make our lives better - automobiles, appliances, skyscrapers, etc.

Citations:

Misa, Thomas J. "Iron and steel." World Book Student, World Book, 2017, www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar281460. Accessed 21 Apr. 2017

ALL IMAGES FROM IMAGE QUEST

"Structural & Steel Products." Structural and Steel Products. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.

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