Book excerpt: Hydrogen in Steel: Effect of Hydrogen on Iron and Steel During Production, Fabrication, and Use focuses on the effect of hydrogen on iron and steel during production, fabrication, and use. Topics covered range from the solubility of hydrogen in iron and ferrous alloys to the diffusion and permeation of hydrogen through iron and steel. Electrochemical problems related to the ability of iron to absorb hydrogen from aqueous solutions are also considered. Comprised of 19 chapters, this book begins with a detailed treatment of the nature and properties of metal-hydrogen systems, paying particular attention to the behavior of hydrogen in the bulk of the metal phase and the mechanism of reactions between metals and hydrogen or hydrogen-producing compounds. The reader is then introduced to the solubility of hydrogen in iron and ferrous alloys as well as the nature of the final product of the hydrogen-iron interaction. Subsequent chapters deal with dimensional changes and stresses produced in steel by cathodically evolved hydrogen; the effects of hydrogen on the physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of iron and steel; influence of welding on hydrogen; and sulfide corrosion cracking of steel. The effects of pickling on steel are also examined, along with the blistering and embrittlement caused by hydrogen on the base metal during electroplating. This book will be of value to students and practitioners in the field of physical chemistry.