Rolling Steel

Teacher’s Guide, insert: In this vivid journey through a modern steel mill, the camera records the birth of steel, a vital material for many modern industries. Scrap iron is transformed into molten steel in giant electric furnaces heated to 2850 degrees Farenheit. Various elements such as manganese, carbon and phosphorus are added to produce alloys, each with unique properties.

The red-hot metal flows into water-cooled copper molds. The steel billets are later reheated and the glowing white-hot steel bars are reduced in thickness and changed in form as they pass through the continuous mill. Angle bars are cooled, straightened, cut and strapped ready for shipment. Searing heat, an ear-piercing din and a complex mechanical production line accompany the transformation of obsolete farm equipment, wrecked autos and manufacturers’ scrap into strong, durable steel, ready for today’s industries.



Social Studies, Science; grades 6-12

12 minutes

See also: 3514