annealing
Oxford Dictionary of Chemistry:
Top
annealing
A form of heat treatment applied to a metal to soften it, relieve internal stresses and instabilities, and make it easier to work or machine. It consists of heating the metal to a specified temperature for a specified time, both of which depend on the metal involved, and then allowing it to cool slowly. It is applied to both ferrous and nonferrous metals and a similar process can be applied to other materials, such as glass.
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
Oxford Dictionary of Chemistry
A Dictionary of Chemistry. Sixth Edition. Copyright © Market House Books Ltd, 2008. All rights reserved.
Read more