Heat and Iron

A clothing iron, also called a flatiron or simply an iron, is a small appliance: a handheld piece of equipment with a flat, roughly triangular surface that, when heated, is used to press clothes to remove creases. It is named for the metal of which the device is commonly made, and the use of it is generally called ironing. Ironing works by loosening the ties between the long chains of molecules that exist in polymer fiber materials. With the heat and the weight of the ironing plate, the fibers are stretched and the fabric maintains its new shape when cool. Some materials, such as cotton, require the use of water to loosen the intermolecular bonds. Many materials developed in the twentieth century are advertised as needing little or no ironing.
The electric iron was invented in 1882 by Henry W. Seeley, a New York inventor
Features
Modern irons for home use can have the following features:
• A design that allows the iron to be set down, usually standing on its end, without the hot soleplate touching anything that could be damaged;
• A thermostat ensuring maintenance of a constant temperature;
• A temperature control dial allowing the user to select the operating temperatures (usually marked with types of cloth rather than temperatures: "silk", "wool", "cotton", "linen", etc.);
• An electrical cord with heat-resistant silicone rubber insulation;
• Injection of steam through the fabric during the ironing process;
• A water reservoir inside the iron used for steam generation;
• An indicator showing the amount of water left in the reservoir,
• Constant steam — constantly sends steam through the hot part of the iron into the clothes;
• Steam burst — sends a burst of steam through the clothes when the user presses a button;
• (advanced feature) Dial controlling the amount of steam to emit as a constant stream;
• (advanced feature) Anti-drip system;
• Cord control — the point at which the cord attaches to the iron has a spring to hold the cord out of the way