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<blockquote data-quote="quakers11111" data-source="post: 2723356" data-attributes="member: 912305">I was reading about René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur and all his biographies mention experiments to turn iron into steel through some substance he didn&#039;t know at the time.&nbsp; Today people know it&#039;s carbon.&nbsp; But I&#039;d like to see a video of somebody recreating this experiment.&nbsp; I couldn&#039;t find any sources on the internet that would explain / show this whole process from the beginning in detail.&nbsp; Some difficulties:1. did he just guess that it&#039;s possible to turn iron into steel?&nbsp; I mean where did this idea come from?&nbsp; It certainly wasn&#039;t out of the blue.&nbsp; He died in 1757 when technology was very limited and putting a lab together would be extremely hard, considering the lack of tools.2. same difficulty as today: was he a scientist only when he was off-duty?&nbsp; Today people get paid in universities to teach a few classes and spend the rest of the day studying and researching, but at that time, what did he do for living?&nbsp; Of course he couldn&#039;t depend on being a scientist to survive.&nbsp; What if he never invented or discovered anything after years trying?In fact, this question applies to scientists of hundreds of years ago too.&nbsp; Making things is very hard.&nbsp; Most people probably couldn&#039;t make a pencil or a regular pen in their house without internet tutorials, even if their lives depended on it.&nbsp; Thanks.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="quakers11111, post: 2723356, member: 912305"] I was reading about René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur and all his biographies mention experiments to turn iron into steel through some substance he didn't know at the time. Today people know it's carbon. But I'd like to see a video of somebody recreating this experiment. I couldn't find any sources on the internet that would explain / show this whole process from the beginning in detail. Some difficulties: 1. did he just guess that it's possible to turn iron into steel? I mean where did this idea come from? It certainly wasn't out of the blue. He died in 1757 when technology was very limited and putting a lab together would be extremely hard, considering the lack of tools. 2. same difficulty as today: was he a scientist only when he was off-duty? Today people get paid in universities to teach a few classes and spend the rest of the day studying and researching, but at that time, what did he do for living? Of course he couldn't depend on being a scientist to survive. What if he never invented or discovered anything after years trying? In fact, this question applies to scientists of hundreds of years ago too. Making things is very hard. Most people probably couldn't make a pencil or a regular pen in their house without internet tutorials, even if their lives depended on it. Thanks. [/QUOTE]

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