Iron Pillar Of Delhi
The Iron Pillar located in Delhi, India, is a 7 m (23 ft) column in the Qutb complex, notable for the rust-resistant composition of the metals used in its construction.
The pillar has attracted the attention of archaeologists and metallurgists and has been called "a testament to the skill of ancient Indian blacksmiths" because of its high resistance to corrosion. 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.
The name of the city of Delhi is thought to be based on a legend associated with the pillar (see History of Delhi).
Read more about Iron Pillar Of Delhi: Description, Original Location, Inscriptions, Scientific Analysis
Famous quotes containing the words iron and/or pillar:
“Along the iron veins that traverse the frame of our country, beat and flow the fiery pulses of its exertion, hotter and faster every hour. All vitality is concentrated through those throbbing arteries into the central cities; the country is passed over like a green sea by narrow bridges, and we are thrown back in continually closer crowds on the city gates.”
—John Ruskin (1819–1900)
“Nights, I squat in the cornucopia
Of your left ear, out of the wind,
Counting the red stars and those of plum-color.
The sun rises under the pillar of your tongue.”
—Sylvia Plath (1932–1963)