• Question: why do some materials rust?

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      • Royal Society of Chemistry: Find out more about:
      Asked by 374matb49 to Rob, James, Elizabeth on 16 Mar 2015.
      • Photo: James Coombs OBrien

        James Coombs OBrien answered on 16 Mar 2015:

        Rust is the reaction between iron, water and oxygen in the air to make the orange looking rust material which is called iron oxide. It only really happens to the metal called iron but can be stopped by making mix of metals called an alloy.

        Thank you!

      • Photo: Robert Woolfson

        Robert Woolfson answered on 16 Mar 2015:

        Rust is sometimes used deliberately as a protective coating for buildings and art. There’s a type of steel you can buy called weathering steel which rusts deliberately. It’s been used in buildings around the world and it was used on the Angel of the North to give it a very unusual appearance.

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_of_the_North

      • Photo: Elizabeth Cooper

        Elizabeth Cooper answered on 17 Mar 2015:

        Materials that rust have been oxidized. Iron metal rusts quiet easily when it is in contact with oxygen and water. Iron metal oxidizes to iron oxide which is the correct name for rust.

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