Looking for an illustrated book about metallurgy

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- Western Larch
  
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posted
18 years ago

Mon, Jun 21, 2004 2:52 AM

Hello,

I'd like to get a book about metallurgy as a gift for a teenager. Ideally it would be one of those "how things work" books that has some technical stuff and a lot of pictures. Actually it could even have a lot of technical stuff if it also has a lot of pictures.

It seems like metallurgy would be a great topic for a popular, illustrated book -- lots of dramatic pictures of Bessemer converters, forges, blast furnaces, & so on. Anyway if you have some title you can suggest I'd be interested to hear about it.

Western Larch

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- Pittsburgh Pete
  
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posted
18 years ago

Tue, Jun 22, 2004 2:01 AM

Larch:

You might try some web sites first. There are some videoclips on ironmaking and steelmaking at

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on the buttons on the bottom of the page, load and view them.

One possibility is a book on materials science by the science writer Ivan Amato called Stuff (the materials the world is made of), Basic Books, 1997. Amazon has some used copies.

How old and how serious is the teenager? Another possibility is a community college level textbook by Kenneth G. Budinski called ENGINEERING MATERIALS: Properties and Selection (Sixth edition), 1999. It has been remaindered and can be bought brand new for $14.95 plus shipping at

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Pittsburgh Pete

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- Dave Palmer
  
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posted
18 years ago

Sat, Jun 26, 2004 12:47 AM

It's not really metallurgy per se, but "Structure, or Why Things Don't Fall Down" and "The New Science of Strong Materials, or Why You Don't Fall Through the Floor", both by J.E. Gordon, are two really good books on material science and engineering, and are very easy to read. I wish somebody had handed them to me when I was a teenager.

Dave Palmer