­The terms metal and steel are constantly used in the same capacity but are they really the same ? If you ’ve ever seen sword , a pop material for construction and consumer products , it certainly looks and feels like a hard metal . But looks can be deceiving .

In fact , the difference between metal and steel is highly command in a world that often imagine of steel as a type of alloy . Even in a professional content , these terms are used together . Steel is normally used as a buil­ding material and " alloy " buildings , as they are referred to , are often made of steel . That ’s why you may be intimate with the term " sword alloy building " in regard to high - rises and skyscraper . But the two are not one in the same and , technically , should not be used interchangeably .

So what is the dispute between these ordinarily disordered terms ? The answer can be found in a few dewy-eyed definition .

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­Ametalis a chemical element of various opaque , fusible , pliable and lustrous substances [ reservoir : Merriam - Webster ] . The chemical element referred to in that definition are the same ones you studied when you lear­ned about the periodic table of the elements in high school day chemistry . Some coarse metals are titanium , copper and Ni .

Steel , on the other hand , is analloyof smoothing iron with varying amounts of carbon content ( from 0.5 to 1.5 percent ) [ source : Merriam - Webster ] . sword , being an alloy and therefore not a pure element , is not technically a metal but a variation on one instead . It ’s partially frame of a metallic element , iron , but because it also has non - metallic carbon in its chemical substance make - up , it ’s not a pure metallic element .

To create brand , impurities like silica , phosphorous and atomic number 16 must be removed from the smoothing iron ore before the C is added . steel bighearted advantage over iron is that it is much stronger , which is why it ’s used in everything from machine to the bridges they labour across . You ’ll also find steel in skyscraper , guns , ship , string and operative tools .

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