Iron

Iron (chemical symbol - Fe, from Lat. Ferrum) is a chemical element of the 8th group (according to the outdated classification - the eighth group of the secondary subgroup, VIIIB) of the fourth period of the periodic system of chemical elements of D. I. Mendeleev with atomic number 26.

A simple substance, iron is a malleable transition metal of silvery-white color with a high chemical reactivity: iron quickly corrodes in air at high temperatures or at high humidity. In pure oxygen, iron burns, and in a finely dispersed state it ignites spontaneously in the air.

One of the most common metals in the earth's crust: second place after aluminum.

Iron itself is usually called its alloys with a low content of impurities (up to 0.8%), which retain the softness and plasticity of pure metal. But in practice, alloys of iron with carbon are more often used: steel (up to 2.14 wt. % carbon) and cast iron (more than 2.14 wt. % carbon), as well as stainless (alloy) steel with additives of alloying metals (x