From Iron To Steel - The History Of Iron And Why It's So Popular In Wrought Iron Designs And Decor

Most of what we learn in high school historymotion pictures,
about Thomasand remained financially intact.Finding a cheaper
Edison is all about his successful inventions.way to produce steel was not only important to
Thomas Edisonthe
electricity, the phonograph, and on and on.financial enhancement of Edison but important to
We know that Thomas Edison held over 1,093the American
patents foreconomy. After 1840 the American iron industry
a number of different types of inventions. Whatwas experiencing
we don't know or we very seldom hear is abouta revitalization but American was not the major
his failures. One of the most noted failures wassteel producer in
his inability to find anthe world.In 1844, government surveyors found
effective way to mine iron ore.Iron is thea large iron ore deposit of
cheapest and most common metal available foranthracite in the Great Lakes area. Pennsylvania
mining. Iron is used for making steel. Steel, at thebecame the nation's
timeleading supplier of iron and steel. With the
that Edison was working on his invention, wasdiscovery of the rich
very expensive.iron ore around Lake Superior and the ability to
The world now and during the life of Edison istransport the
very dependentbounty the mine produce by water, Pennsylvania
on steel.If Edison was successful in creating thebecame the center
extraction processof American iron and steel production.British
he would have earned billions of dollars in income,engineer Henry Bessemer perfected a steel
The possibilities that would extend from thatextraction
successprocess. He completed the work that Thomas
would also create millions of jobs, and spur otherEdison had started.
Bessemer developed an iron smelting process
inventions.Iron is useless in its pure form. Iron isthat made it possible
brittle and cannot be used to manufacture anyto produce large quantities of steel. Some
products because of thismanufacturers of steel
and other characteristics. Iron in its pure form isuse his process to this day.The invention was an
aeconomical and an efficient process to make
silver color. The gray that we see in iron comessteel from iron ore. But a better process was
fromintroduced
combining iron with oxygen. But iron is notBy Abram S. Hewitt who became a steel
adaptable tomagnate that rivaled
any practical applications on its own.That is whyAndrew Carnegie was the first American to try
the discovery of an effective extraction processthe Bessemer
was important. Edison worked on this extractionprocess. He then improved on the process to
processdevelop the
from 1880 to 1890. For over ten years, hethe open-hearth converter. American steel
performed experiments,makers preferred
hired scientist, and other experts to perfect histhe process of Hewitt to that of Bessemer.The
extractionlow cost of steel production after this discovery
process. The impetus was to provide iron ore tochanged the balance for American industries.
the PennsylvaniaAmerican
steel mills.Edison moved his office from aIndustry could now lead the world in steel
comfortable building to actuallyproduction.
work in the old iron mines to find an economicalIn 1873 the United States, produced nearly
process to satisfy115,000
the insatiable demands for steel . The testing andtons of steel. As the price of steel continued to
processing ofdrop,
his experiments was very expensive. To financeIt was possible to use steel in several
his inventionindustries.Over 70% of the finished steel that is
Edison sold all his stock in General Electric. Hisproduced in
heirs stillthe United states goes to automotive
regret that to this day.Edison was never able toindustry.For more information on iron or more
find a way to extract the iron from unusable,specifically wrought iron decor try visiting where
low grade ores. Edison eventually abandoned theyou will find information on wrought iron
project. He neverchandeliers, iron beds, iron gates, cast iron skillets,
recouped his money that he had invested.ieon railings, iron patio furniture and cast iron
Fortunately for Edison,cookware.
he continued his work on the phonograph and