Sir Robert Abbott Hadfield

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Sir Robert Abbott Hadfield

1858-1940

British metallurgist who developed manganese steel. Manganese steel is extremely hard and resistant to wear, properties that make it an excellent material from which to make railroad tracks and machinery for breaking apart rock. Earlier forms of manganese steel had been too brittle to be of practical use. Hadfield eliminated this problem by increasing the percentage of manganese. He also experimented with adding silicon to steel. In 1925 he wrote a reference book titled Metallurgy and Its Influence on Modern Progress.

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