STAINLESS steel is not meant to rust, but it does sometimes. Now we know that the corrosion is kicked off by a chain reaction in the steel’s surface – a finding that could lead to new ways of eliminating rust.
The surface of stainless steel is covered by a protective oxide layer, but in places where the layer is thin or defective, a “corrosion pit” may form. To study these pits, Jack Hudson of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and his colleagues dropped pieces of steel into salty water, which speeds up corrosion. They then monitored the steel’s surface with…
