Wootz is a steel characterized by a pattern of bands or sheets of micro carbides within a tempered martensite or pearlite matrix. Steel is an Alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with a Carbon content between 0 For the Software development tool targeting the Symbian OS, see Carbide Steel 035 water quenchedpng|thumb|200px|035%C Steel water-quenched from 870°C]] Martensite, named after the German metallurgist Adolf Martens (1850–1914 Pearlite is a two-phased, lamellar (or layered structure composed of alternating layers of alpha-ferrite (88 wt% and Cementite (12% that occurs It was developed in India around 300 BC[1]. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Events By place Roman Empire The Franks penetrate into what is now northern Belgium (approximate date The word wootz[2] may have been a mistranscription of wook, an anglicised version of ukku, the word for steel in Kannada, Telugu and many other southern Indian languages. Kannada (kn [[wiktಕನ್ನಡ ಕನ್ನಡ]] Kannaḍa) is one of the major Dravidian languages of India, spoken predominantly in the state
Wootz steel was widely exported throughout the region, and became particularly famous in the Middle East, where it become known as Damascus steel after being locally forged into swords. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. Damascus steel is a hot- forged Steel used in Middle Eastern Swordmaking from about 1100 to 1700 AD Critical characteristic of wootz steel is the abundant ultrahard metallic carbides in the steel matrix precipitating out in bands, making wootz steel display a characteristic banding on its surface. Wootz swords, especially damascus blades, were renowned for their sharpness and toughness. Toughness, in Materials science and Metallurgy, is the resistance to Fracture of a material when stressed.
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Manufacture
While other methods may be used today, it is known that wootz was classically made in crucibles, e. g. , crucible steel by combining a mixture of wrought iron or iron ore and charcoal with glass, which is then sealed and heated in a furnace. Crucible steel describes a number of different techniques for making Steel Alloy by slowly heating and cooling pure Iron and Carbon (typically QtubIronPillarJPG|thumb|right| Iron pillar at Delhi India containing 98% wrought iron]] Wrought iron is commercially pure Iron. Iron ores are rocks and Minerals from which Metallic Iron can be economically extracted Charcoal' is the blackish residue consisting of impure Carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from Animal and Vegetation Glass in the common sense refers to a Hard, Brittle, transparent Solid, such as that used for Windows many A furnace is a device used for Heating The name derives from Latin fornax, Oven. The result is a mixture of impurities mixed with glass as slags, and "buttons" of steel. The buttons (with a typical carbon content of 1. Carbon (kɑɹbən is a Chemical element with the symbol C and its Atomic number is 6 5%) were separated from the slag and forged into ingots. Slag is the By-product of Smelting Ore to purify Metals They can be considered to be a mixture of metal Oxides however An ingot is a material usually metal that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing The ingots could be further forged out into blades/tools or welded to other ingots to increase the mass of the steel for larger items.
The techniques for its making died out around 1700 after the principal sources of special ores needed for its production were depleted. Those sources contained trace amounts of tungsten and/or vanadium which other sources did not. Tungsten (ˈtʌŋstən also known as wolfram (/ˈwʊlfrəm/ is a Chemical element that has the symbol W and Atomic number 74 Vanadium (vəˈneɪdiəm is a Chemical element that has the symbol V and Atomic number 23 Oral tradition in India maintains that a small piece of either white or black hematite (or old wootz) had to be included in each melt, and that a minimum of these elements must be present in the steel for the proper segregation of the micro carbides to take place. Hematite, also spelt hæmatite, is the Mineral form of Iron(III oxide (Fe2O3 one of several Iron oxides
Wootz was possibly rediscovered in the mid 19th century by the Russian metallurgist Pavel Petrovich Anosov (see Bulat steel), who refused to reveal the secret of its manufacture other than to write five one-sentence descriptions of different ways in which it could be made. Bulat is a type of Steel Alloy known in Russia from medieval times and regularly mentioned in Russian legends as material of choice for cold steel
Master bladesmith Alfred Pendray re-discovered what may be the classic techniques in the early 1980s, as later verified by Dr. John Verhoeven. [3][4]
Another method of wootz production, using modern technology, was developed around 1980 by Dr. Oleg Sherby and Dr. Jeff Wadsworth at Stanford University and Livermore National Laboratories. Even though this steel had the charactertistic bands of microcarbides, whether or not this could be considered wootz was disputed by Verhoeven since it was not made in a classical manner.
Recently, researcher Peter Paufler from Dresden University in Germany has discovered evidence of carbon nanotubes in Wootz steel[5], although this is disputed.
Trivia
- An elaborate fictionalized description of Wootz steel manufacture is presented in Neal Stephenson's historical science fiction novel The Confusion, part of Stephenson's three-volume work The Baroque Cycle. Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known primarily for his Science fiction works in the Postcyberpunk genre The Confusion is a Novel by Neal Stephenson. It is the second volume in The Baroque Cycle. The Baroque Cycle is a series of novels written by Neal Stephenson.
- The manufacturing of Wootz steel is also detailed in Leo Frankowski's Conrad Stargard series. Leo Frankowski (born February 13, 1943, in Detroit Michigan) is an American writer of Science fiction novels Conrad Stargard is the Protagonist and title character in a series of time travel novels written by Leo Frankowski.
- Don Krieg, a fictional character in Oda Eiichiro' manga One Piece claims to use armour made of Wootz steel. is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of the Manga and Anime One Piece. is a Japanese Shōnen Manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, that has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine
References
- ^ IISC
- ^ p. 108 -- Michael Faraday, as quoted by Peter Day, The Philosopher's Tree ISBN 0-7503-0571-1
- ^ J. Michael Faraday, FRS ( September 22 1791 – August 25 1867) was an English D. Verhoeven, A. H. Pendray, and W. E. Dauksch (1998). "The Key Role of Impurities in Ancient Damascus Steel Blades". Journal of Metals 50 (9): 58-64.
- ^ Verhoeven, J. D. (1987). "Damascus Steel. I. Indian Wootz Steel". Metallography 20 (2): 145. doi:. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.
- ^ Reibold, M; Paufler P, Levin AA, Kochmann W, Pätzke N, Meyer DC (November 16, 2006). "Materials: Carbon nanotubes in an ancient Damascus sabre". Nature 444 (7117): 286. Nature Publishing Group. doi:. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.
See also
External links
- The key role of impurities in ancient damascus steel blades
- Wootz steel: an advanced material of the ancient world
- Indian heritage in metallurgy
- Nanotubes present in Damascus Blades
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