Ferrite, also known as -ferrite (-Fe) or alpha iron, is a materials science term for pure iron, with

a body-centered cubic B.C.C crystal structure. It is this crystalline structure which

gives steel and cast iron their magnetic properties, and is the classic example of
a ferromagnetic material.[1]
It has a strength of 280 N/mm2[citation needed] and a hardness of approximately 80 Brinell.[2]
Mild steel (carbon steel with up to about 0.2 wt% C) consist mostly of ferrite, with increasing
amounts of pearlite (a fine lamellar structure of ferrite and cementite) as the carbon content is
increased. Since bainite (shown as ledeburite on the diagram at the bottom of this page) and pearlite
each have ferrite as a component, any iron-carbon alloy will contain some amount of ferrite if it is
allowed to reach equilibrium at room temperature. The exact amount of ferrite will depend on the
cooling processes the iron-carbon alloy undergoes as it cools from liquid state.
In pure iron, ferrite is stable below 910 C (1,670 F). Above this temperature the face-centred
cubic form of iron,austenite (gamma-iron) is stable. Above 1,390 C (2,530 F), up to the melting
point at 1,539 C (2,802 F), the body-centred cubic crystal structure is again the more stable form
of delta-ferrite (-Fe). Ferrite above the critical temperature A2 (Curie temperature) of 771 C
(1,044 K; 1,420 F), where it is paramagnetic rather than ferromagnetic, is beta ferrite or beta iron (Fe). The term beta iron is seldom used because it is crystallographically identical to, and its phase
field contiguous with, -Fe.
Only a very small amount of carbon can be dissolved in ferrite; [3] the maximum solubility is about
0.02 wt% at 723 C (1,333 F) and 0.005% carbon at 0 C (32 F).[4] This is because carbon
dissolves in iron interstitially, with the carbon atoms being about twice the diameter of the interstitial
"holes", so that each carbon atom is surrounded by a strong local strain field. Hence the enthalpy of
mixing is positive (unfavourable), but the contribution of entropy to the free
energy of solution stabilises the structure for low carbon content. 723 C (1,333 F) also is the
minimum temperature at which iron-carbon austenite (0.8 wt% C) is stable; at this temperature there
is a eutectoid reaction between ferrite, austenite and cementite.

Molar volume vs. pressure for -ferrite at room temperature.

Because of its significance for planetary cores, the physical properties of iron at high pressures and
temperatures have also been studied extensively. -ferrite, which is the form of iron that is stable
under standard conditions, can be subjected to pressures up to ca. 15 GPa before transforming into
a high-pressure form termed -iron, which crystallizes in a hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure.