Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engineering is the field dedicated to controlling and preventing corrosion.
Corrosion on exposed metal, including a bolt and nut
Galvanic corrosion of an aluminium plate occurred when the plate was connected to a mild steel structural support.
Gold nuggets do not naturally corrode, even on a geological time scale.
Normal microstructure of Type 304 stainless steel surface
Erosion is the action of surface processes that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distinct from weathering which involves no movement. Removal of rock or soil as clastic sediment is referred to as physical or mechanical erosion; this contrasts with chemical erosion, where soil or rock material is removed from an area by dissolution. Eroded sediment or solutes may be transported just a few millimetres, or for thousands of kilometres.
An actively eroding rill on an intensively-farmed field in eastern Germany
A natural arch produced by the wind erosion of differentially weathered rock in Jebel Kharaz, Jordan
A wave-like sea cliff produced by coastal erosion, in Jinshitan Coastal National Geopark, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
Soil and water being splashed by the impact of a single raindrop