Stainless steel film of chromium oxide by reaction with the oxygen in air and even the small amount of dissolved oxygen in water. This passive film prevents further corrosion by blocking oxygen diffusion to the steel surface and thus prevents corrosion from spreading into the bulk of the metal. This film is self-repairing if it is scratched or temporarily disturbed by an upset condition in the environment that exceeds the inherent corrosion resistance of that grade. However, stainless steels may suffer uniform corrosion when exposed to acidic or basic solutions. Whether a stainless steel corrodes depends on the kind and concentration of
Stainless steel both the Petronas Twin Towers and the Jin Mao Building, two of the world's tallest skyscrapers. The Parliament House of Australia in Canberra has a stainless steel flagpole weighing over . The aeration building in the Edmonton Composting Facility, the size of 14 hockey rinks, is the largest stainless steel building in North America. La Geode in Paris is a nearly spherical building. The dome is composed of 6433 polished stainless steel equilateral triangles that form the sphere that reflects the sky. Stainless steel is quite frequently used for pedestrian and for road bridges. Product forms are tubes (Helix bridge),