What the heck are we doing? I hear about these sanctions and tariffs and
additional fees on steel and al-you-men-e-u-oom, but does anyone know what that
means? Of course not, for we are all to concerned on why Melania has become
invisible or who will be the Bachelorette pick or if Rosanne will come back as
Archie Bunker?
Well from what I hear and read our ultimate leader has decided we (as a
country) should fine others who make this metal so we don’t have to buy foreign
product and make more American product.
I won’t get into the geo-political responses or even the tactical
industrial mindset but it seems everyone makes steel. The metal is used for
everything so we just keep forging the metal and shipping it out as components
from everything from skyscrapers to cell phones.
The carbon content of steel is between 0.002% and 2.14% by weight for
plain iron–carbon alloys. These values vary depending on alloying elements such
as manganese, chromium, nickel, tungsten, and so on. Basically, steel is an iron-carbon
alloy that does not undergo eutectic reaction. In contrast, cast iron does
undergo eutectic reaction. Too little carbon content leaves (pure) iron quite
soft, ductile, and weak. Carbon contents higher than those of steel make a
brittle alloy commonly called pig iron. While iron alloyed with carbon is
called carbon steel, alloy steel is steel to which other alloying elements have
been intentionally added to modify the characteristics of steel. Common
alloying elements include: manganese, nickel, chromium, molybdenum, boron,
titanium, vanadium, tungsten, cobalt, and niobium. Additional elements are also
important in steel: phosphorus, sulfur, silicon, and traces of oxygen,
nitrogen, and copper, that are most frequently considered undesirable.
Plain carbon-iron alloys with a higher than 2.1% carbon content are
known as cast iron. With modern steelmaking techniques such as powder metal
forming, it is possible to make very high-carbon (and other alloy material)
steels, but such are not common. Cast iron is not malleable even when hot, but
casting can form it as it has a lower melting point than steel and good
castability properties. Certain compositions of cast iron, while retaining the
economies of melting and casting, can be heat treated after casting to make
malleable iron or ductile iron objects. Steel is distinguishable from wrought
iron (now largely obsolete), which may contain a small amount of carbon but
large amounts of slag.
I know, I wasn’t paying attention in chemistry class either and could not
tell you the periodic table, but someone was or the Chinese couldn’t have
figured they could take all our recycling, mix it with their steel and sell it
back to us for a cheaper price (and quality).
So the price of metal will be going up, but that included beer cans.
Most of what I eat and drink comes out of cans and while I am a good recycler
my substance budget will be going up. I guess I could cut back or buy the
premium beer? Can they bottle beer
in plastic?
My ponies are welded metal tubes but hopefully they will last while this
tissy fit goes on. I hope I have enough hammers and screwdrivers and nails to
last awhile. Hope I don’t need braces.
Everything that uses metal, and that is EVERYTHING, will increase in
price and probably the NASCAR drivers won’t wreck as often?
Maybe Detroit (or Cincinnati or Omaha or wherever they make cars) will
cut back on production or fewer models? Maybe guitars will use plastic tuners?
Maybe the farmer can make the John Deer last another year and coins will
disappear? Velcro can replace belt
buckles and airplanes can be fiberglass around wooden frames.
Maybe WAR will become too expensive since guns and tanks and cannons and
bullets are made out of metal?
No comments:
Post a Comment