Editing Steel (section)

==Definitions and related materials==
{{See also|Steel grades}}
[[File:Steel wire rope.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Steel cable]] of a [[coal mining|colliery]] [[headframe]]]]
The noun ''steel'' originates from the [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] adjective {{lang|gem-x-proto|stahliją}} or {{lang|gem-x-proto|stakhlijan}} 'made of steel', which is related to {{lang|gem-x-proto|stahlaz}} or {{lang|gem-x-proto|stahliją}} 'standing firm'.<ref>{{OEtymD|steel}}</ref>

The carbon content of steel is between 0.02% and 2.14% by weight for plain carbon steel ([[iron]]-[[carbon]] [[alloy]]s). [[Alloy steel]] is steel to which other alloying elements have been intentionally added to modify the characteristics of steel. Common alloying elements include: [[manganese]], [[nickel]], [[chromium]], [[molybdenum]], [[boron]], [[titanium]], [[vanadium]], [[tungsten]], [[cobalt]], and [[niobium]].<ref name="EM2">{{cite book |author1=Ashby, Michael F. |author2=Jones, David R.H. |name-list-style=amp |title=Engineering Materials 2 |orig-date=1986 |edition=with corrections |date=1992 |publisher=Pergamon Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-08-032532-7}}</ref> Additional elements, most frequently considered undesirable, are also important in steel: [[phosphorus]], [[sulphur]], [[silicon]], and traces of [[oxygen]], [[nitrogen]], and [[copper]].

Plain iron-carbon alloys with a higher than 2.1% carbon content are known as [[cast iron]]. With modern [[steelmaking]] techniques such as powder metal forming, it is possible to make very high-carbon (and other alloy material) steels, but such are not common. Cast iron is not malleable even when hot, but it can be formed by [[casting]] as it has a lower [[melting point]] than steel and good [[castability]] properties.<ref name="EM2" /> Certain compositions of cast iron, while retaining the economies of melting and casting, can be heat treated after casting to make [[malleable iron]] or [[ductile iron]] objects. Steel is distinguishable from [[wrought iron]] (now largely obsolete), which may contain a small amount of carbon but large amounts of [[slag]].