Sheffield, England. The British army has a problem: the heat generated by cannons deforms steel barrels, causing problems. English engineer Harry Brearly is tasked with developing a solution. He experiments with different types and alloys of steel. By chance, he notices parts among the scraps that don’t rust and discovers that they were parts to which chromium had been added. The discovery will be used only marginally by the British army, but after the war it will begin to be widely used for cutlery and surgical instruments.
