This book is intended both as a resource for engineers and as an introduction to the layman about our most important metal system. After an introduction that deals with the history and refining of iron and steel, the rest of the book examines their physical properties and metallurgy. To elaborate on the importance of iron and steel, we can refer to the fact that modern civilization as we know it would not be possible without it. Steel is essential in the machinery necessary for manufacturing that meets our needs. Even the words themselves have come to suggest strength. Phrases such as 'iron willed', 'iron fisted', 'iron clad', 'iron curtain' and 'pumping iron' imply strength. A 'steely glance' is a stern look. 'A heart of steel' refers to a very hard demeanor. The Russian dictator, Stalin (which means steel in Russian), chose the name to invoke fear in those under him.

In this study of Birmingham's iron and steel workers, Henry McKiven unravels the complex connections between race relations and class struggle that shaped the city's social and economic order. He also traces the links between the process of class formation and the practice of community building and neighborhood politics. According to McKiven, the white men who moved to Birmingham soon after its founding to take jobs as skilled iron workers shared a free labor ideology that emphasized opportunity and equality between white employees and management at the expense of less skilled black laborers. But doubtful of their employers' commitment to white supremacy, they formed unions to defend their position within the racial order of the workplace. This order changed, however, when advances in manufacturing technology created more semiskilled jobs and broadened opportunities for black workers. McKiven shows how these race and class divisions also shaped working-class life away from the plant, as workers built neighborhoods and organized community and political associations that reinforced bonds of skill, race, and ethnicity.

The first of many important works featured in CRC Press’ Metals and Alloys Encyclopedia Collection, the Encyclopedia of Iron, Steel, and Their Alloys covers all the fundamental, theoretical, and application-related aspects of the metallurgical science, engineering, and technology of iron, steel, and their alloys. This Five-Volume Set addresses topics such as extractive metallurgy, powder metallurgy and processing, physical metallurgy, production engineering, corrosion engineering, thermal processing, metalworking, welding, iron- and steelmaking, heat treating, rolling, casting, hot and cold forming, surface finishing and coating, crystallography, metallography, computational metallurgy, metal-matrix composites, intermetallics, nano- and micro-structured metals and alloys, nano- and micro-alloying effects, special steels, and mining. A valuable reference for materials scientists and engineers, chemists, manufacturers, miners, researchers, and students, this must-have encyclopedia: Provides extensive coverage of properties and recommended practices Includes a wealth of helpful charts, nomograms, and figures Contains cross referencing for quick and easy search Each entry is written by a subject-matter expert and reviewed by an international panel of renowned researchers from academia, government, and industry. Also Available Online This Taylor & Francis encyclopedia is also available through online subscription, offering a variety of extra benefits for researchers, students, and librarians, including: Citation tracking and alerts Active reference linking Saved searches and marked lists HTML and PDF format options Contact Taylor and Francis for more information or to inquire about subscription options and print/online combination packages. US: (Tel) 1.888.318.2367; (E-mail) [email protected] International: (Tel) +44 (0) 20 7017 6062; (E-mail) [email protected]

Iron & Steel is a story inspired by the history of the Tay Bridge, a Scottish railroad viaduct that collapsed in a storm while carrying a crowded passenger train in 1879. At the time, the bridge was the longest in the world. The engineer who designed it had been knighted by the queen, and the bridges subsequent failure only fourteen months after completion remains, along with the sinking of the Titanic, one of the most shocking technological disasters of the Industrial Age. Set in a time when engineers were achieving a level of celebrity once reserved for poets and war heroes, the story focuses on two men: Charles Jenkins and Stewart Darrs. Jenkins is a young engineer and metals expert looking to build bridges out of steel, a material that had yet to be accepted by the British railroad establishment. Darrs, on the other hand, is a veteran engineer who has spent thirty years building railroads and iron bridges across Scotland and northern England. Together, they are men on the cutting edge of the technology of their day, living in a world where railroads are transforming the landscape and bridges of previously unimaginable length are among the highest symbols of a nations industrial might.

Although the last two generations have seen an enormous amount of attention paid to advances in electronics, the fact remains that high-income, high-energy societies could thrive without microchips, etc., but, by contrast, could not exist without steel. Because of the importance of this material to comtemporary civilization, a comprehensive resource is needed for metallurgists, non-metallurgists, and anyone with a background in environmental studies, industry, manufacturing, and history, seeking a broader understanding of the history of iron and steel and its current and future impact on society. Given its coverage of the history of iron and steel from its genesis to slow pre-industrial progress, revolutionary advances during the 19th century, magnification of 19th century advances during the past five generations, patterns of modern steel production, the ubiquitous uses of the material, potential substitutions, advances in relative dematerialization, and appraisal of steel’s possible futures, Still the Iron Age: Iron and Steel in the Modern World by world-renowned author Vaclav Smil meets that need. Incorporates an interdisciplinary discussion of the history and evolution of the iron- and steel-making industry and its impact on the development of the modern world Serves as a valuable contribution because of its unique perspective that compares steel to technological advances in other materials, perceived to be important Discusses how we can manufacture smarter rather than deny demand Explores future opportunities and new efforts for sustainable development in the industry