In 1864, Henry Clifton Sorby polished and lightly acid-etched samples of iron and steel and examined them under a microscope, adapting a technique he had already used on rock thin-sections. The etching attacked grain boundaries and different microstructural constituents at different rates, making visible for the first time the internal crystalline structure of a metal, and founding metallography as a discipline.
Facts
YearSourced to the subject's own account MethodSourced to the subject's own accountFrom 1863, Sorby polished and etched samples of iron and steel with acid and examined the microscopic structure under a microscope, extending to metals the thin-section, polarized-light technique he had already developed for rocks and minerals. 1 Key FindingSourced to the subject's own accountSorby was the first in England to understand that a small but precise quantity of carbon gave steel its strength, founding the discipline of microscopic metallurgy; he published the complete results of twenty years of this work in 1887. 1 LocationSorby's own private laboratory and workshop at Broomfield, Beech Hill Road, in the Broomhill district of Sheffield, England (the site is now part of the Royal Hallamshire Hospital). 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Henry Clifton Sorby (Wikipedia)
WikipediaWikipedia, Henry Clifton Sorby, Metallurgy sectionQuote, Wikipedia, Henry Clifton Sorby, Metallurgy section
Using this technique, he was the first in England to understand that a small but precise quantity of carbon gave steel its strength.
1. Henry Clifton Sorby (Wikipedia)
WikipediaWikipedia, Henry Clifton Sorby, Metallurgy section, 1863 etching techniqueQuote, Wikipedia, Henry Clifton Sorby, Metallurgy section, 1863 etching technique
In 1863, he used etching with acid to study the microscopic structure of iron and steel.
1. Henry Clifton Sorby (Wikipedia)
2. Henry Clifton Sorby (Sorby Natural History Society)
Sorby Natural History SocietySorby Natural History Society, Henry Clifton Sorby biography, home laboratory sectionQuote, Sorby Natural History Society, Henry Clifton Sorby biography, home laboratory section
Broomfield, Beech Hill Road, Broomhill. The site is now covered by part of the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.