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| Originally Posted by bob wippin Do you mean ally when you say alloy  . Steel is an alloy as well!
Putting my pedantic hat on, aluminium isn't an alloy - it's a metal. Come to think of it, I don't think that steel is an alloy either, being a mixture of iron and carbon. Alloys are a mixture of two or more metals and carbon is a non-metal. Not that it makes any difference to your point!
Having looked it up, I'm not sure about steel now - anyone know definitively whether it is or isn't an alloy? |
Yeah, of course aluminum is not an alloy. It is a metal straight off the periodic table.
However steel is an alloy, an alloy is where a metal element is combined with at least one other element (carbon for steel, as you state) to give a compound with metallic properties. Doesn't matter if that second element is a metal or non metal. So steel is an alloy.
However aluminium does not remain as a metal element. It reacts with oxygen in air to give a protective oxide layer, preventing further oxidation of the metal underneath. This is not classed as an alloy though as the oxide layer does not display strictly metallic properties.
So steel is an alloy but aluminium is not.