What is stainless steel?
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Stainless steel is considered stainless because it has at least 11% chromium by mass. Chromium is a relatively inert metal and does not rust or react as easily as plain carbon steel. This is what makes it an exceptional material for cooking. It is also fairly inexpensive, but does not have a very high thermal conductivity. From a surface standpoint, this is because of the thin layer of chromium oxide that is formed on the surface. This thin layer protects the metal from rusting or corroding. While it is protective, the oxide layer is not very conductive, which makes cooking food less efficient than it could be. For most cooking applications, high thermal conductivity is desirable to create an evenly heated surface on which to cook. In this way, stainless steel is usually not considered high-grade cookware.
Surface chemistry of cooking
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Stainless steels have a long history of application in contact with water due to their excellent corrosion resistance. Applications include a range of conditions from plumbing, potable and waste water treatment to desalination. Types 304 and 316 stainless steels are standard materials of construction in contact with water. However, with increasing chloride contents higher alloyed stainless steels such as Type 2205 and super austenitic and super duplex stainless steels are utilized.
Stainless steel
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Surgical stainless steel is a grade of stainless steel that is used in biomedical applications. The most common "surgical steels" are austenitic 316 stainless and martensitic 440 and 420 stainless steels. There is no formal definition on what constitutes a "surgical stainless steel", so product manufacturers and distributors apply the term to refer to any grade of corrosion resistant steel.
Body piercing materials
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Surgical stainless steel is a grade of stainless steel used in biomedical applications. The most common "surgical steels" are austenitic 316 stainless and martensitic 440 and 420 stainless steels. There is no formal definition on what constitutes a "surgical stainless steel", so product manufacturers and distributors apply the term to refer to any grade of corrosion resistant steel.
Surgical stainless steel
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Some 3D printing providers have developed proprietary stainless steel sintering blends for use in rapid prototyping. One of the more popular stainless steel grades used in 3D printing is 316L stainless steel. Due to the high temperature gradient and fast rate of solidification, stainless steel products manufactured via 3D printing tend to have a more refined microstructure; this in turn results in better mechanical properties. However, stainless steel is not used as much as materials like Ti6Al4V in the 3D printing industry; this is because manufacturing stainless steel products via traditional methods is currently much more economically competitive.
Stainless steel
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The stainless steel production in China accounts for more than 50% of the world production in 2017Breakdown of production by families of stainless steels in 2017:This breakdown is quite stable over the yearsStainless steel is used for buildings for both practical and aesthetic reasons. Stainless steel was in vogue during the art deco period. The most famous example of this is the upper portion of the Chrysler Building (pictured). Some diners and fast-food restaurants use large ornamental panels and stainless fixtures and furniture. Because of the durability of the material, many of these buildings still retain their original appearance. Stainless steel is used today in building construction because of its durability and because it is a weldable building metal that can be made into aesthetically pleasing shapes. An example of a building in which these properties are exploited is the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton, which is wrapped in stainless steel.
Stainless steel
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At elevated temperatures all metals react with hot gases. The most common high temperature gaseous mixture is air, and oxygen is the most reactive component of air. Carbon steel is limited to ~ in air. Chromium in stainless steel reacts with oxygen to form a chromium oxide scale which reduces oxygen diffusion into the material. The minimum 10.5% chromium in stainless steels provides resistance to ~, while 26% chromium provides resistance up to ~. Type 304, the most common grade of stainless steel with 18% chromium is resistant to ~. Other gases such as sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, chlorine, etc. also attack stainless steel. Resistance to other gases is dependent on the type of gas, the temperature and the alloying content of the stainless steel.
Stainless steel
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Stainless steels are used extensively in:
Acidic foods with high salt additions, such as tomato sauce, and highly salted condiments, such as soya sauce may require higher alloyed stainless steels such as 6% Mo superaustenitics to prevent pitting corrosion by chloride.The Allegheny Ludlum Corporation worked with Ford on various concept cars with stainless steel bodies from the 1930s through the 1970s to demonstrate the material's potential. The 1957 and 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham had a stainless steel roof. In 1981 and 1982, the DeLorean DMC-12 production automobile used Type-304 stainless steel body panels over a glass-reinforced plastic monocoque. Intercity buses made by Motor Coach Industries are partially made of stainless steel.
Stainless steel
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Austenitic stainless steel is the largest family of stainless steels, making up about two-thirds of all stainless steel production. They possess an austenitic microstructure, which is a face-centered cubic crystal structure. This microstructure is achieved by alloying with sufficient nickel and/or manganese and nitrogen to maintain an austenitic microstructure at all temperatures from the cryogenic region to the melting point. Thus austenitic stainless steels are not hardenable by heat treatment since they possess the same microstructure at all temperatures.
Stainless steel
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316 stainless steel, also referred to as marine grade stainless steel, is a chromium, nickel, molybdenum alloy of steel that exhibits relatively good strength and corrosion resistance. Along with the titanium alloy Ti6Al4V, 316 stainless is a common choice of material for biomedical implants. Although Ti6Al4V provides greater strength per weight and corrosion resistance, 316 stainless components can be more economical to produce. However, immune system reaction to nickel is a potential complication of 316. 
Implants and equipment that are put under pressure (bone fixation screws, prostheses, body piercing jewelry) are made out of austenitic steel, often 316L and 316LVM compliant to ASTM F138.
316 surgical steel is used in the manufacture and handling of food and pharmaceutical products where it is often required in order to minimize metallic contamination. 
ASTM F138-compliant steel is also used in the manufacture of body piercing jewellery and body modification implants.
Surgical stainless steel