Unlike ordinary steel, stainless steel isn't prone to corrosion, rusting, or staining with exposure to water. But this isn't to say it's completely stain-proof. In areas with low oxygen, high salinity, or poor air circulation, stainless steel is vulnerable to staining. Stainless steel isn’t a good conductor of electricity. For comparison, its electrical conductivity is much lower than that of copper.

Stainless steel is 100 percent recyclable, easy to sterilize, and used in many applications. In fact, ordinary citizens interact with products made of stainless steel on a daily basis. Stainless steel is everywhere. Today, I'll be covering some of the common traits, products, and applications of this versatile metal.

Common Stainless Steel Products and Applications

Most often, stainless steel is used for applications requiring the unique properties of steel along with resistance to corrosion. You'll find this alloy milled into coils, sheets, plates, bars, wire, and tubing.

Stainless Steel Corrosion Resistance

Stainless steel in the 300 series is resistant to weaker bases like ammonium hydroxide - even in high concentrations and at high temperatures. However, these same steels, when exposed to stronger bases like sodium hydroxide, are vulnerable to etching and cracking. While stainless steel is oftentimes unaffected in damp or acidic environments, other metals in contact with it in those environments oftentimes experience galvanic corrosion.