Nautical Term: Anneal
Definition of Anneal
Annealing is a process used to heat a metal, typically to a cherry red temperature, and then cool it in a specific manner to promote both softening and toughening of the metal.
For example, brass or copper is often annealed by heating it to a cherry red temperature, and then quenching it by suddenly dipping it into water while still hot.
In contrast, iron or steel is more commonly annealed by slowly cooling it from the heated condition to room temperature.
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