Abstract
THE freedom from rusting of the famous iron pillar at Delhi has long been a subject of comment and has been attributed by some writers to the peculiar properties of the ancient iron from which it is forged. Although some particulars of its history are obscure, it seems certain that the pillar dates from about the fifth century A.D. and is roughly 1,500 years old. The immunity of iron from rusting over such a long period is a striking phenomenon and it may therefore be of interest to report the results of some experiments that were made to ascertain the reason for this.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
HUDSON, J. The Delhi Pillar. Nature 172, 499–500 (1953). https://doi.org/10.1038/172499c0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/172499c0
This article is cited by
-
Uncovering the superior corrosion resistance of iron made via ancient Indian iron-making practice
Scientific Reports (2021)
-
Insitu corrosion investigations on Delhi iron pillar
Transactions of the Indian Institute of Metals (2009)
-
The decorative bell capital of the Delhi iron pillar
JOM (1998)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
