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Sarnath Pillar

hi there.. have any one of u heard about the sarnath pillar in india?? the amazing thing aboutit is that it was built centuries ago and still it has no signs of rust.. it is completely intact.. can any one tell me the reason for it?? i ve been having this doubt for a very long time ...

Reply to
fogla.navin
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I think you mean the Delhi pillar. The Delhi iron pillar has recently been analyzed and discussed in some detail in two articles which you can read as Acrobat files on the web. It is a wrought iron made by puddling (reducing ore in the solid state) rather than a steel made by melting (the typical modern process). That a different material made by a different process behaves differently from our current structural steels is understood and is not amazing.

"Delhi iron pillar and its relevance to modern technology" at

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and a longer article on "Nondestructive evaluation of the delhi iron pillar" at
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Pittsburgh Pete

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Reply to
metalengr

Relative humidity is low there.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

Reply to
Brian Whatcott

Yup, except when it rains for 24/7 for 3 months of the year during the monsoons.

-jim

Reply to
jim

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Acting as a lightning arrester during the rainy season, the top of the pillar seems to have melted frequently and perhaps rapidly solidified through removal of heat by iron from the pillar itself.

It sounds like the lack of carbon is what slows its oxidation, much like cast iron behaves.

David A. Smith

Reply to
N:dlzc D:aol T:com (dlzc)

And is the monsoon considered to be destructive of a stone pillar?

Or were you confusing it with somewhere else?

:-)

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

Reply to
Brian Whatcott

The mention of the monsoon was in reply to "Relative humidity is low there" which was not accurate. But yes, the monsoon is considered to be destructive of a stone pillar. That is why the Sarnath pillar is housed indoors. However, that point is not particularly relevant either - as others pointed out previously the original question was probably about the remarkable corrosion resistance of other iron pillars that have been exposed to the weather for many centuries..

-jim

Reply to
jim

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