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| Metals Of India |
The technique of mining metals and purifying them is called Metallurgy. There are numerous verses in the Vedas about Metallurgy for example Rigveda 4.2.17. Here copper is called Ayas and iron is called Krsn Ayas.
Approximately 6000 years ago during the Indus Valley Civilisation copper and tin was mixed to make bronze alloy.This was the beginning of the bronze age in India.
Using the technique of lost-wax casting Indus Valley Civilization made bronze weapons, jewellery, and statues. This technique was pretty advanced in its time and the statues of the Indus Valley are world-famous even today for their fine workmanship. Civilization suddenly disappeared from many places when the bronze age ended in the whole world, but the technique in the Indus Valley did not disappear.
After the bronze age Indian Metallurgists were the first in the world to invent steel in 500 BCE.
When steel was invented both Iron and Bronze metals took second place. Because neither did steel rust easily nor break under pressure. Seeing this India started production of steel on an industrial level.
During Emperor Ashoka's Mauryan Empire, Indian steel started being exported to far-flung countries such as Rome. It is said, when King Porus and Alexander's battle ended he demanded Indian steel, not silver or gold as a peace treaty.
King Porus gifted Alexander his sword and several tons of steel. After the Mauryan empire Emperor, Chandragupta and the Gupta empire carried forward these old techniques.
Emperor Vikramaditya erected the world's first iron pillar in 300 CE as an honour to Lord Vishnu. This is the only iron pillar in the world which has not rusted even after 1600 years.
Even today scientists from all over the world come to see and understand this pillar situated in Delhi. Due to the constant progress of Metallurgy in India soon a new metal was invented that changed the image of the world.
This metal was Wootz steel. The root of the word Wootz comes either from "ukku" in Kannada or "Ucch" in Sanskrit. Wootz steel is made using crucible technique. In it a clay crucible is filled with wrought iron and glass and heated on charcoal at a fixed temperature.
The silicon to come out of glass works as flux and absorbs all the impurities in the iron, which resulted in high carbon steel, and the swords made from it remained sharp for years to come.
Many swords in the world, such as King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, might have been made using this technique. While the world was still dazzled by Wootz steel in 1200 CE Indian blacksmiths in Zawar village of Rajasthan collected every drop of steam arising through distillation in a heated furnace into a condenser. and gave the world a new metal - zinc.
After this era, iron, and steel became the world's most important metals. The Arab countries assumed responsibility to sell Indian steel and they named this steel 'Faulad'. The European kings purchased this steel from Damascus.
They named it Damascus Steel. Even after the 17th century, India remained the only source of high-quality steel in the world. During that time several scientists from the world came to India to watch how this steel was made. Famous Scientist Michael Faraday tested this steel until 1820. With the help of this study he invented modern Metallurgy and he was dubbed the "Father of Alloy-Steel".
On the one hand production of high-quality steel started in the world on the other hand in 1857, after the first battle of freedom, the British barred all steel production in India.
Finally, Sir Dorabji Tata established Tata Steel in 1907 and steel production began in India once again. Making 99.6 million tons of steel per year, India is the world's second steel producer today.
The roads and buildings made of metal in our world and the priceless fruit of the knowledge of metallurgy was obtained because of thousands of years of hard work in ancient India.
Note
1. Copper is called Ayas .
2. Iron is called Krsn Ayas.
Some Questions
1. Which ore can be best concentrated by froth floatation process?
ANS- Galena
2. Bessemer converter is used in the manufacture of______________
ANS- Steel
3. Purest form of iron is_________
ANS- Wrought iron
4. During the process of electrolytic refining of copper, some metals present as impurity settle as ‘anode mud’. These are_______
ANS- Ag (silver) and Au (Gold)
5. Cassiterite is the ore of which metal?
ANS- Sn (Tin)