Carbon is a chemical element with the atomic number 6 and the element symbol C.
It occurs both in pure form and chemically bonded. Carbon is found in colourless form in diamonds or
in graphite, which has a deep black colour. It can even be found in yellow-brown colour in lonsdaleite or
in chaoite, which has a dark grey colour. Other known types include fossil fuels, such as coal or petroleum.
These are often found in the USA, China or in the German Ruhr area. Carbon lowers the melting point of a material and
increases hardness, tensile strength and cementite formation.
Carbon steel
Carbon steel is also referred to as "C-steel". These designations can be derived from the element,
which is called "carbon" in English, from where the element symbol C comes.
In addition to the main component iron, carbon steel mainly contains carbon (C) as a secondary component.
It is low-alloyed or completely unalloyed, and the carbon content is up to 2.1%.
Carbon steel rusts easily and must be protected from corrosion by coating. It is very robust and dimensionally stable.
Furthermore, carbon steel has a tough core, while its edge layer is wear-resistant. The more carbon the steel contains, the harder it is.
However, it becomes less malleable with increasing carbon content.
In the case of steel, the carbon content determines what kind of steel it is. For example, a carbon content of 2.1% to 6.6% produces cast iron.
To obtain carbon steel, iron ore must be put into a blast furnace together with coke. The coke now removes the chemicals and the iron becomes charged with carbon.
The result is cast iron. Next, oxygen is blown in to partially remove carbon, which becomes carbon dioxide, or CO2. Carbon steel is used as knives, in blades of components or as planes, screws or axles.
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