Iron and some other elements, mainly carbon, are used to produce the alloy, steel. Great tensile strength and affordability of steel is making it increasingly popular to be used for a wide variety of purposes. The weight percentage of carbon in typical alloys of steel remains 2.1%. Presence of different alloying elements in steel helps the technicians to control the tensile strength, ductility, and hardness of the manufactured steel.
In olden days, bloomery furnaces were used in its production. However, in the middle of the 19th century, with the introduction of Bessemer process, the production of steel is enhanced further. Later the coming up of Siemens-Martins followed by Gilchrist-Thomas procedure, steel is begin to manufacture efficiently, hence boosting the steel industries.
Finally, basic oxygen steelmaking process lowered the production cost considerably while not compromising with its quality. Today, one of the most abundant materials on Earth is steel, producing annually 1.3 billion tons of it. In automobiles, buildings, weapons, infrastructure, ships, appliances, tools, and machines, steel is being used extensively.