Gilchrist-Thomas method for producing steel invented

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Domains

Metal and metal alloys

Dates

Date of occurrence 1878

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

Resources

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During the 1850s, Henry Bessemer had developed the first inexpensive process for making steel out of molten pig iron. By blowing air through the iron, impurities could be oxidised and thus removed from the final product. This did not, however, solve the problem that most iron ore contained high levels of phosporus, which made the steel brittle. When a young science enthusiast, Sidney Gilchrist Thomas, heard in a Chemistry class at Birkbeck that solving this problem would be a huge breakthrough and earn its discoverer a fortune, he resolved to do just that. His cousin, Percy Carlyle Gilchrist, was appointed analytical chemist at Blaenavon Ironworks in Wales, and the pair eventually met the challenge by designing a lining for the Bessemer converter. By using a base rather than an acidic…

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151 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Gilchrist-Thomas method for producing steel invented". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5230, accessed 05 May 2024.]

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