The difference between carbon steel and iron？

The essential difference between steel and iron is the amount of carbon they contain. In addition to carbon, carbon steel generally contains a small amount of silicon, manganese, sulfur, phosphorus and other elements, while iron does not contain these elements. Carbon steel is formed by smelting iron and is a kind of steel. And iron is different from other elements, such as lead, copper and other substances general name, is actually a metal element. Steel is a general term for iron alloys with carbon content between 0.02% and 2.04% by mass.

The chemical composition of steel can vary greatly. Steel that contains only carbon elements is called carbon steel or ordinary steel. In actual production, steel often contains different alloying elements according to different uses, such as manganese, nickel, vanadium and so on. According to the different carbon content, steel can be divided into low carbon steel, medium carbon steel and high carbon steel. The carbon content of low carbon steel is generally less than 0.25% (mass fraction), the carbon content of medium carbon steel is generally 0.25% to 0.60% (mass fraction), and the carbon content of high carbon steel is generally higher than 0.60% (mass fraction).

Iron is a chemical element, its chemical symbol is Fe, atomic number 26, is one of the most commonly used metals. It is a transition metal and the second most abundant metal element in the Earth's crust.

Iron can be divided into pig iron and wrought iron. Wrought iron, steel and pig iron are all iron-carbon alloys, and the difference between them is mainly in the carbon content. In general, a carbon content of less than 0.2% is called wrought iron or pure iron, a carbon content of 0.2-1.7% is called steel, and a carbon content of more than 1.7% is called pig iron. Wrought iron is soft, has good plasticity, easy deformation, low strength and hardness, so its use is relatively narrow; Pig iron contains more carbon elements, hard and brittle, almost no plasticity; Steel has a combination of the advantages of pig iron and wrought iron, so it is widely used in various fields.