Commentary

Corrosion research. In most people's minds corrosion is associated with loss in weight from metal. Although this is correct, it is a statement that hides many realities and is responsible for directing many investigators down blind alleys during their research. The theory of corrosion is a study of surfaces, and all corrosion cells and anti‐corrosion techniques are practical examples of skin effects. Any investigator making a precise analytical study of corrosion phenomena must eventually reach the conclusion that all the important work is based on the theories of interface reactions. The corrosion theory of solid/liquid and solid/gas reactions bears this out if it is accepted that diffusion is an extension of interfacial theory. Even the complicated theories behind stress corrosion arise as the result of a study of interface reactions between crystals.