Summary:
- Corrosion is the deterioration of metals by redox processes.
- Corrosion causes enormous amounts of damage to buildings, bridges, ships, cars, and other objects.
- It has been estimated that corrosion costs the U.S. economy over 100 billion dollars each year.
- Some metals, such as gold and platinum, do not corrode easily because they are very resistant to oxidation by common substances.
- Some other metals begin to be oxidized, but are further protected from additional corrosion by a coating formed on the surface.