Iron & Wine
Wiki, Facts

 Iron & Wine facts

• It is a metal in the first transition series
• It is by mass the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core
• It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust
• Its abundance in rocky planets like Earth is due to its abundant production by fusion in high-mass stars, where it is the last element to be produced with release of energy before the violent collapse of a supernova, which scatters the iron into space
• Like the other group 8 elements, ruthenium and osmium, iron exists in a wide range of oxidation states, −2 to +6, although +2 and +3 are the most common
• Elemental iron occurs in meteoroids and other low oxygen environments, but is reactive to oxygen and water
• Fresh iron surfaces appear lustrous silvery-gray, but oxidize in normal air to give hydrated iron oxides, commonly known as rust
• Unlike the metals that form passivating oxide layers, iron oxides occupy more volume than the metal and thus flake off, exposing fresh surfaces for corrosion
• Iron metal has been used since ancient times, although copper alloys, which have lower melting temperatures, were used even earlier in human history
• Pure iron is relatively soft, but is unobtainable by smelting because it is significantly hardened and strengthened by impurities, in particular carbon, from the smelting process