Short answers, pulled from the story.
Archaeologists excavated ironware pieces at Kaman-Kalehöyük in Anatolia dating back to 1800 BC. These artifacts represent the earliest known production of steel in human history.
At 910 degrees Celsius, pure iron transforms from a body-centred cubic structure into a face-centred cubic form called gamma iron. This phase change allows the metal to dissolve carbon concentrations as high as 2.1 percent by weight.
Henry Bessemer introduced his steelmaking process in England in 1855. His method allowed producers to create large quantities of mild steel cheaply enough to replace wrought iron.
China produced 54 percent of the world's steel supply in 2023. American steel production historically centred on Pittsburgh, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Cleveland, Ohio until the late twentieth century.
Stainless steels contain a minimum of 11 percent chromium to resist corrosion effectively. Some grades like ferritic stainless steels remain magnetic while others such as austenitic types do not.