C 253 1 
XX. On the Alloys of steel. By J. Stodart, Esq. F.R. S. and 
Mr. M. Faraday, Chemical Assistant in the Royal Institu- 
tion. Communicated by J. Stodart, Esq, F. R. S. 
Read March 21, 1822. 
The alloys of steel made on a small scale in the laboratory 
of the Royal Institution proving to be good, and the experi- 
ments having excited a very considerable degree of interest 
both at home and abroad, gave encouragement to attempt 
the work on a more extended scale, and we have now the 
pleasure of stating, that alloys similar to those made in the 
Royal Institution, have been made for the purpose of manu- 
facture ; and that they prove to be, in point of excellence, in 
every respect equal, if not superior, to the smaller produc- 
tions of the laboratory. Previous however, to extending the 
work, the former experiments were carefully repeated, and 
to the results were added some new combinations, namely, 
steel with palladium, steel with iridium, and osmium, and 
latterly, steel with chromium. In this last series of experi- 
ments we were particularly fortunate, having by practice 
acquired considerable address in the management of the fur- 
naces, and succeeded in procuring the best fuel for the pur- 
pose. Notwithstanding the many advantages met with in 
the laboratory of the Royal Institution, the experiments were 
frequently rendered tedious from causes often unexpected, 
and sometimes difficult to overcome ; among these, the fai- 
lure of crucibles was perhaps the most perplexing. We have 
