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iron pillar of delhi


louie

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Standing at the center of the Quwwatul Mosque the Iron Pillar is one of Delhi's most curious structures. Dating back to 4th century A.D., the pillar bears an inscription which states that it was erected as a flagstaff in honour of the Hindu god, Vishnu, and in the memory of the Gupta King Chandragupta II (375-413). How the pillar moved to its present location remains a mystery. The pillar also highlights ancient India's achievements in metallurgy. The pillar is made of 98 per cent wrought iron and has stood 1,600 years without rusting or decomposing.

http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_ironpillar.htm

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The ancient Indians were famous for their watered steel, who knows, they might of had stainless steel too...

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What about this part of the post?

Mystery of Delhi's Iron Pillar unraveled

New Delhi, July 18: Experts at the Indian Institute of Technology have resolved the mystery behind the 1,600-year-old iron pillar in Delhi, which has never corroded despite the capital's harsh weather.

Metallurgists at Kanpur IIT have discovered that a thin layer of "misawite", a compound of iron, oxygen and hydrogen, has protected the cast iron pillar from rust.

The protective film took form within three years after erection of the pillar and has been growing ever so slowly since then. After 1,600 years, the film has grown just one-twentieth of a millimeter thick, according to R. Balasubramaniam of the IIT.

In a report published in the journal Current Science Balasubramanian says, the protective film was formed catalytically by the presence of high amounts of phosphorous in the iron—as much as one per cent against less than 0.05 per cent in today's iron.

It's an iron pillar, so what else?

The high phosphorous content is a result of the unique iron-making process practiced by ancient Indians, who reduced iron ore into steel in one step by mixing it with charcoal.

Modern blast furnaces, on the other hand, use limestone in place of charcoal yielding molten slag and pig iron that is later converted into steel. In the modern process most phosphorous is carried away by the slag.

The pillar—over seven metres high and weighing more than six tonnes—was erected by Kumara Gupta of Gupta dynasty that ruled northern India in AD 320-540.

Stating that the pillar is "a living testimony to the skill of metallurgists of ancient India", Balasubramaniam said the "kinetic scheme" that his group developed for predicting growth of the protective film may be useful for modeling long-term corrosion behaviour of containers for nuclear storage applications.

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India was renowned for many items, and advancements in numerology and medicine during its golden ages (Europena dark ages). I have many pieces of watered steel form my grandmother, who lives south of Trichi. They are very beautiful.

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Where can I see pictures of watered steel? I have never heard of it. It sounds wonderful.

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Standing at the center of the Quwwatul Mosque the Iron Pillar is one of Delhi's most curious structures. Dating back to 4th century A.D., the pillar bears an inscription which states that it was erected as a flagstaff in honour of the Hindu god, Vishnu, and in the memory of the Gupta King Chandragupta II (375-413). How the pillar moved to its present location remains a mystery. The pillar also highlights ancient India's achievements in metallurgy. The pillar is made of 98 per cent wrought iron and has stood 1,600 years without rusting or decomposing.

http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_ironpillar.htm

Quite amazing. But their are always some things that just happen to withstand for abnormally long times. In actual fact, from that picture, it looks like it is already starting to decompose.

I dont know weather the facts are right too, because Vishnu is a deity from the Hinduism and a Mosque is a place of worship for Muslims, which are completly different Religions, with completely different beliefs.

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How the pillar moved to its present location remains a mystery

There you go.

erm....many people won't like your Icon...

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wow, that is a gorgeous blade...amazing testimony to their skills in metallurgy. incredible article. :yes:

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Also they used bog iron which is far more rust resistant than the iron from hematite ore they use today. The sad part about it is bog iron is renewable and forms in the bottom of acidic standing water were you have to destroy the earth to extract hematite. But the processing of hematite is cheaper. Here in the Pine Barrens a ore bed will renew itself in 7 years.

I have both a woodstove made of bog iron which is still perfect after 150 years in my den but my modern woodstove in my living room which is only 20 years old is starting to deteriorate.

Lapi'che

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There is another pillar some where but I cannot remember where it is not as tall as the one in Delhi.

Edited by cerberusxp
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And this link pillar works now

Edited by cerberusxp
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  • 6 years later...

I wonder where Iron pillar of Delhi orginally stand?

The pillar was used as a trophy in the building the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque and the Qutb complex, that much can be established without a doubt. However R. Balasubramaniam, based on analysis of the metallurgy of the pillar, says it was originally located at the Udayagiri caves, situated near Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh.

Rust free after so much weathering....

It's so for a reason 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, and also the effects of the local Delhi climate, which alternates from wet to dry. I find it a real testament to the skill of ancient Indian blacksmiths.

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The pillar was used as a trophy in the building the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque and the Qutb complex, that much can be established without a doubt. However R. Balasubramaniam, based on analysis of the metallurgy of the pillar, says it was originally located at the Udayagiri caves, situated near Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh.

Thanks a lot. That realy helped.

However did Udayagiri caves can be called Vishnupada hill? Is there any hill at all? Do we seen other pillars there?

Is there else more similar pillars?

Also we only suggest who was Chandra, right?

I adore Gupta empire. It was best time period in India and empire (+Mughal) in India in my opinion.

Edited by the L
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Can't beleive I clicked "Like" to a post from 7 years ago!

I've always wondered about this pillar, but never took the time to find out why it was not so rusty... Turns out it is the phosphorous....

Edited by DieChecker
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It's so for a reason 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, and also the effects of the local Delhi climate, which alternates from wet to dry. I find it a real testament to the skill of ancient Indian blacksmiths.

Maybe there's a more simple explanation:

Perhaps it was "rubbed" a lot by pole dancers. :passifier:

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Can't beleive I clicked "Like" to a post from 7 years ago!

The Internet forums sure can make a little time seem like a whole lot, eh?

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India was renowned for many items, and advancements in numerology and medicine during its golden ages (Europena dark ages). I have many pieces of watered steel form my grandmother, who lives south of Trichi. They are very beautiful.

Did you mean to write numerology? Or we're you referring to mathematics?

Edit: didn't realise how old this thread was either. It's all 'the L''s fault!

Edited by Timonthy
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