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5 views

Iron

Uploaded by

mostafamamay85
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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 is a chemical element; it has the 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 (932 °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 compounds; some of them, such as ferrocene, ferrioxalate,
and Prussian blue have substantial industrial, medical, or research applications.

The body of an adult human contains about 4 grams (0.005% body weight) of iron,
mostly in hemoglobin and myoglobin. These two proteins play essential roles
in oxygen transport by blood and oxygen storage in muscles. To maintain the
necessary levels, human iron metabolism requires a minimum of iron in the diet. Iron
is also the metal at the active site of many important redox enzymes dealing
with cellular respiration and oxidation and reduction in plants and animals.[10]

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