Oops!!! Iron vs. Steel
This prompt struck a soft spot in my memory and I was swept back into the days of high school Chemistry. Visions of elements, electrons, valance shelves, nuclei, charges, and atomic numbers danced into sight. One fact I do recall quite vividly is that iron is an element while steel is a metal alloy. After a little research I was reminded that steel is mostly composed of iron. Iron seems to be a more basic metal with a much stronger history. It exists not only in the trusses of structures and bows of ships, but in human bodies and living things. It is an essential element for life. This one reason is enough evidence to prove the demand for iron is much greater than that for steel.
But steel is mainly composed of this necessary element; it is simply fortified with other elements to produce a powerful tool for building and creating. Stainless steel does not rust as iron does and therefore has the ability to withstand more elements of weather and climate. So although steel is a manmade creation it has advantages which overpower those of iron and can be used in situations where iron would literally shrivel and disappear.