Stainless steel is an iron-based alloy with 10.5% chromium and 0.3% nickel used to make strong, durable metals for Jewelry and kitchen equipment (pots, pans, and other utensils).
It also has a shiny gold finish that can be polished to a bright shine. Stainless steel is used mainly because it has an inert chemical property that allows it to resist corrosion because there is no freely moving metal ion in stainless steel.
It’s one of the most common materials used in the industry because of its combination of strength, durability, and cost-effectiveness.
Does stainless steel set off metal detectors?
No, stainless steel does not set off metal detectors. The metal is used primarily for its inert chemical properties, which allow it to withstand corrosion.
One of the only commercially available stainless steels with a magnetic component is 440C, but it contains less than 8% Cr and less than 1% Ni so would not be detected.
Traditionally among security professionals and law enforcement officers, any object that will go through an X-ray machine or metal detector has to be non-magnetic (no stainless steel), flexible (no belts or sharp objects), small enough to fit into a pocket or purse (baggy clothes preferred), and most importantly no explosives (carrying nothing as the airport).
Typical prohibited items include: However, not all countries and agencies follow these rules, especially when the passenger is willing to subject himself/herself to a thorough physical inspection.
However, most metal detectors in airports are X-ray machines, which are used for screening baggage before being put on board a flight.
These machines will alert the operator if any part of the body or object has been left behind after going through the X-ray scanner. This is done primarily for safety reasons so that the operator does not miss any dangerous object while manually searching luggage for items that can set off alarms in the machine.
Do stainless steel piercings set off metal detectors?
They will if you go through a metal detector with them on. A search will be done that may include the patting over of the person’s clothes to identify areas where metal might be concealed.
Does stainless steel beep in metal detectors?
Stainless steel is not magnetic and so won’t be beeped in metal detectors. However, when metal detectors go off, it indicates that one of the following is true:
When a person sets off a metal detector at an airport or other security point, they are going to subject themselves to a thorough search of their person and possessions.
This does not necessarily mean that they will be arrested or their belongings confiscated; they just have to subject themselves to a thorough hand search.
It will typically include having all of one’s clothes removed and then being searched for hidden objects, as well as the use of handheld wands or handheld magnetometers.
What makes it hard for Metal Detectors to Detect Stainless Steel
Because of the inertness of stainless steel, metal detectors won’t detect it unless it’s being actively searched for. Furthermore, they won’t detect any part of a person or object that they are already programmed to search for.
So when an airport metal detector goes off, it sets off because something metallic object has been left in the scanner. For example, if a passenger is wearing a belt buckle that is not magnetic or metal-based like plain gold, the metal detector will go off since no other object will be detected by it.
When a metal detector goes off, what is searched for is generally always found in the person or object being searched, just not in the object’s usual place of concealment.
So while stainless steel can be used to hide small knives and weapons, the area around them can still set off metal detectors when they are being scanned.
For example, if the blade of a knife were to pierce into a belt buckle that was then worn under clothes on one’s stomach or waistline, that would still set off the metal detector because it would miss seeing an object on top of or under clothing. However, even with metals and alloys such as stainless steel and titanium, it is possible to detect their presence via eddy currents.
