Hi Every one:
 
Stainless Steel is corrosion resistant because of  the
Chrome content in it's formulation.  Type 316  has about 16.5 %
Chrome, 12 %  Nickle, 2.5 % Molybdenum, 2% Manganese, 1 % Silicon,
0.03 % Carbon in an Iron solution.  A steel cannot qualify for the
stainless prefix untill it  has at least 10.5% chromium.
 
The Chrome migrates to the surface during processing and forms an
oxide that is extremly corrision ressistant.
 
This is the same reason the bumpers on cars stay the way they do and
why I wished I had the money to buy a stainless extractor.
 
James Peterson Ph. D.
Chemistry Teacher