Learn about steel (it's fun, I swear)

[breathedout]

A research byproduct: This interactive tour through the steel-making process is SUPER informative and interesting. The combination of animations and text-based explanations, along with the flowchart-style navigation, is incredibly helpful. And the whole thing is very appealing from a "How Things Are Made" perspective. I mean, caveat that it's made by the steel industry, but for a basic understanding of what's going on mechanically & chemically, I dig it. Start by clicking on one of the three main ingredients in the center of the circle, and go from there!

Comments

[verymorstan]

ooh! *dashes off to learn a thing* thank you! :D

[breathedout]

I aim to share the wealth!

[virtual_particle]

Interesting! I knew bits and pieces from watching How it's Made (the tv/youtube show), but this site is a lot more informative.

The coking process generates the following main volatiles as byproducts: coke oven gas, tar, ammonium sulfate, benzol, toluol and naphtha.

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I know just enough about biochemistry to cringe at that list.

[breathedout]

I know, right? The industry line is of course that all those byproducts are captured & properly disposed of, but we all know the likelihood of that being the whole truth. Plus I'm researching this stuff in the first place for a story set in 1916-1918; I can only imagine the health effects on that era's steelworkers. Yikes.

[achray]

This speaks to my interests. I watched a great video on how to make rope in a rope works the other day, and one on 'what is carding'?

[breathedout]

There's such an appeal to watching things being made, isn't there?? In a town between Portland (where I'm originally from) and the coast, there's a cheese factory where you can go & stand in a viewing gallery watching the conveyor belt where the huge blocks of cheese are cut down, weighed, and packaged for stores. It was one of my favorite ever things as a kid. So mesmerizing!