Iron Pillar of Delhi, India: Anyone ever seen this?

[SpyderEdgeForever]

This is very fascinating. In Delhi, India, there is this standing pillar made of iron or some form of well-preserved steel. I have read assorted articles on it over the years, some claim it was cast all in one piece, others claim it was made from forged iron or steel disks, in which they were hand-forged and welded to one another, to make the pillar.

https://plus.google.com/114743866229882 ... l=us&hl=en" target="_blank

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_pillar_of_Delhi" target="_blank

There are some websites that go to an extreme, making it out to be some "lost super technology, unreplicatable by modern tools!"
I personally think this is simply an outstanding example of ancient steel-making and ironwork.

What heavilly makes it stand out is its lack of corrosion/rust, after all these centuries.
There has been ongoing discussion about the reason for this: Some claim it has to do with the external enviroment, the air and local level of humidity or lack thereof; others claim it has to do with the forged or cast structure of the iron itself, that it is an example of very rust-resistant nearly pure iron, or something along those lines.

A piece from the Wikipedia article reads:

" The pillar has attracted the attention of archaeologists and materials scientists and has been called "a testament to the skill of ancient Indian blacksmiths" because of its high resistance to corrosion.[1] The corrosion resistance results from an even layer of crystalline iron hydrogen phosphate forming on the high phosphorus content iron, which serves to protect it from the effects of the local Delhi climate."

Another claim is that the pillar was formed elsewhere, and transported to its current site.

This reminds me of some of the modern steels like corten steel that are designed to form an oxide layer and then stop further corrosion:

Weathering steel, best-known under the trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as "Corten steel", is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable rust-like appearance if exposed to the weather for several years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weathering_steel" target="_blank

Take a look at the Delhi Pillar and I'd like to read feedback from others on your thoughts about it.

More from the Wikipedia article:

" The most critical corrosion-resistance agent is iron hydrogen phosphate hydrate (FePO4-H3PO4-4H2O) under its crystalline form and building up as a thin layer next to the interface between metal and rust. Rust initially contains iron oxide/oxyhydroxides in their amorphous forms. Due to the initial corrosion of metal, there is more phosphorus at the metal–scale interface than in the bulk of the metal. Alternate environmental wetting and drying cycles provide the moisture for phosphoric-acid formation. Over time, the amorphous phosphate is precipitated into its crystalline form (the latter being therefore an indicator of old age, as this precipitation is a rather slow happening). The crystalline phosphate eventually forms a continuous layer next to the metal, which results in an excellent corrosion resistance layer.[2] In 1,600 years, the film has grown just one-twentieth of a millimetre thick"

Website about the pillar from the Indian Institute of Technology:

http://www.iitk.ac.in/infocell/Archive/ ... illar.html" target="_blank

[ChrisinHove]

I think the 1970's ... author..... Erich Von Daniken claimed it to be extra-terrestrial. But then he claimed a lot of other things were as well. If I recall correctly, his theories didn't stand up to much examination.

[Crazy Fox]

That pillar is very interesting.

I remember that the first time I saw a foot bridge made of weathering steel (in Pagosa Springs, CO), I thought that it sure looked like the surface of the Iron Pillar of Delhi.

[enduraguy]

Yes pretty cool, but the ruins of Puma Punku have it beat.

[Doc Dan]

Obviously it is made of H1

[Doc Dan]

What is really interesting is that, also in India/Pakistan, there are a couple of cities that are very radio active. Even corpses have been crystallized by some process. It is all eerily similar to Hiroshima, even the ancient writings sound contemporary. Hmmmm?!