Profile

I’m a physics graduate studying to obtain a PhD in Materials Science (specifically Corrosion Science, i.e. rust) at the University of Birmingham. I currently live with my girlfriend, who’s studying for a PhD in ancient history (specifically Egyptology, i.e. pyramids), also in Birmingham.
I’ve lived in Birmingham for ~7 years (without picking up the accent) since I started university here, though I spent a year studying in Canada as part of my university course.
I get my hair cut about twice a year, usually when I go to meet my girlfriend’s grandparents. I originally come from Portsmouth on the South coast. I’ll eat any food, but I try to stay away from REALLY spicy things (like whole chillis) and things in shells (they can be hard to eat, and I’m lazy). I’ve never broken a bone, but I have almost drowned. I often talk really fast, and people have to get me to repeat myself or slow down. I’m a big geek, and grew up on Sci-Fi shows (Star Trek, Stargate, Farscape) and books.

We use stainless steels in loads of different areas in our lives. You’ve probably got stainless steel knives and forks in your kitchen, and your oven and fridge probably use stainless steel somewhere in their design (usually shiny surfaces). It’s also used in buildings, factory machinery, boats, and (the stuff that I’m mainly interested in) containers to keep nuclear waste.
One big problem for things made out of metal is rust. If you’ve got an old swing, or and old wooden shed in the garden you can probably see some rusted metal. Even better if you’re next to the sea you can probably find LOADS of rusty things like pontoons, railings and probably old cars.
We don’t want things to rust (a rusty nail does a worse job than a non-rusty nail). We use stainless steel because it’s tough like steel, but also because it resists lots of environments which would cause other metals to rust. It’s not perfect though, and will still rust in the right (or wrong) conditions. My job is to expose the steel to loads of different conditions (like really hot ovens, really (REALLY) salty water, really acidic solutions) to see what causes them to rust, and which conditions the steel remains fine in. If we know that, we know when to use stainless steel (i.e. for cutlery) and when to use something else.