Iron is the most plentiful, least expensive, and most useful of all metals. It is described as a moderately heavy, hard, malleable, and ductile metal. In its pure form, it is a silvery-white colour. One of the most distinctive features is its ability to take and retain a magnetic field. Both of these oxides can be broken down into iron and oxygen by heating them in a blast furnace.
Molten iron can dissolve carbon , thus producing an alloy better known as steel.
The higher the percentage of carbon, the harder the steel becomes. Steel is the most common structural metal used from simple nuts and bolts to the framework of tall skyscrapers.