New work improves stainless steel surface
Manufacturers polish, grind, and roll stainless steel to create countless everyday products. Such manipulations can produce, for example, an especially hard material for sharp edges on surgical tools and razor blades. Yet the resulting metal can be more brittle and prone to corrosion than other forms of stainless steel are.
Now, an electrochemical technique seems to improve a stainless steel surface without degrading the rest of the material. The new process is so simple, says Tim Burstein of the University of Cambridge in England, that “you could just about carry it out in a schoolroom.”