Steel is a material that is composed of iron and carbon. In its purified state, it is an extremely hard, ductile, malleable and corrosion-resistant metal with low density. It is one of the most important metals in the world because it can be used in a wide range of applications
Steel can be produced by heating iron ore in a furnace at temperatures ranging from 1500～C to 3000～C (2700～F to 5700～F), depending on the type of steel being produced. The chemical elements found in iron ore are combined when hot air streams over the molten pig iron (iron ore) in the furnace. The resulting liquid mixture forms what is known as slag or cast steel
The temperature at which liquid steel is produced can vary from 1,500～C to 2200～C (2700～F to 3600～F). This high temperature is needed to melt down the carbon content of the ore into slag or cast steel, which then cools down into ingots or billets. These ingots are then shaped into various forms such as rods, bars and structural shapes such as beams and columns before they are shipped off for further processing into finished products
how hot is metal that is being forged
