Modern commercial airliners are largely made of aluminum, a light and strong metal. But the fact that aluminum is cheap enough that airplanes can be made out of it is a bit of historical luck. Before the discovery of the Hall-Héroult process in, aluminum was as rare and expensive as gold. What would happen if airplanes had to be made of steel?

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Tabitha Clarke

Chemistry

13 December, 10:29

Modern commercial airliners are largely made of aluminum, a light and strong metal. But the fact that aluminum is cheap enough that airplanes can be made out of it is a bit of historical luck. Before the discovery of the Hall-Héroult process in, aluminum was as rare and expensive as gold. What would happen if airplanes had to be made of steel?

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Bambi · Answer 1

The metallic properties of steel would strongly not favor its use in construction of aircraft.

Steel is an alloy of carbon and iron. It is denser and generally weighs more than equivalent amount of aluminum. This would imply that the weight of aircrafts would be much more heavier than usual. Weight is a very key component in construction of aircraft. The lighter the mass, the faster propellers can move the craft and lesser amount of energy used. The weight would be a major problem.

Although alloying iron and carbon improves the resistant of the steel to corrosion, it still cannot be compared to that of aluminium. We would build airplanes that would not be durable for so long and that can readily rust on frequent usage.