As a heat treatment in the fields of metallurgy and materials science,

annealing modifies the physical and sometimes chemical properties of a

material to make it more malleable and ductile. To do this, you must first

heat the material above its recrystallization temperature, then keep it at

that temperature for a long enough period of time, and finally, allow it to

cool.

A material's ductility and hardness can be altered through annealing due

to atomic migration within the crystal lattice and a corresponding

reduction in dislocation density. Recrystallization occurs as the substance

cools. Crystal grain size and phase composition, which in turn determine

the material properties, are temperature and time dependent for many

alloys, including carbon steel. However, the metal's structure can be

modified through subsequent heat treatments to achieve the desired

characteristics if hot working or cold working is performed after the

annealing process. Insight into the chemical make-up and phase diagram

of a material allows for its hardness and brittleness to be modified

through heat treatment.

For ferrous metals like steel, annealing involves heating the material

(typically until glowing) and then allowing it to cool slowly to room

temperature in still air. The cooling of copper, silver, and brass can be

done either slowly in air or quickly by quenching in water. [1] The metal is

pliable and ready for further processing at this point, such as sculpting,

stamping, or forming.