It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard and brittle transition metal. Chromium is also the main additive in stainless steel, to which it adds anti-corrosive properties. Polished chromium reflects almost 70% of the visible spectrum, with almost 90% of infrared light being reflected. because many chromium compounds are intensely colored.
Ferrochromium alloy is commercially produced from chromite by silicothermic or aluminothermic reactions and chromium metal by roasting and leaching processes followed by reduction with carbon and then aluminium. A major development in steel production was the discovery that steel could be made highly resistant to corrosion and discoloration by adding metallic chromium to form stainless steel.
