The Differences Between the Metal Alloys of Sterling Silver and Carbon Steel
- The main difference between sterling silver and carbon steel is the elements that make up each alloy. Sterling silver is comprised of 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent copper, while carbon steel is made up of 0.1 to 0.3 percent carbon and the rest being steel; iron combined with either chromium, nickel, manganese, tungsten or vanadium. The other difference is the alloy classification that each alloy falls under. Sterling silver is considered to be a substitutional alloy, while carbon steel is an interstitial alloy.
- A substitutional alloy is one that has some of the atoms of the more dominant metal substituted with atoms of another metal. Additionally, for an alloy to be considered substitutional, the elements must have similar bonding characteristics. Copper atoms replace silver atoms in the original metallic design and a solid with properties of both silver and copper is created. Other examples of substitutional alloys are brass, pewter and 10-carat gold.
- An interstitial alloy occurs when the small holes, or interstitial spaces, in a metallic crystal are filled with smaller atoms. For example, if you have a bucket of small pebbles and pour sand into it, the sand will fill the gaps that exist between the pebbles. With carbon steel, there are holes in the iron crystal, which fill with carbon atoms, thus changing the properties of iron. Because iron is quite malleable, the introduction of carbon makes it harder and stronger.
- Alloys are formed by metallic bonds. A metallic bond is a chemical reaction that occurs between two metallic elements where the electrons in the outer shell of one metal shift or move to the more stable metal. Metallic bonds aren't just between atoms that are next to each other; instead, they exist over the whole structure.