Passivation

And then comes the chromate layer.

Chromate passivates the zinc.

Passivates?

Yeah, it chemically stabilizes it so the zinc doesn't just oxidize too rapidly on its own.

And it also alters the surface tension.

Passivated, exactly.

This became known as surface passivation, which sounds less like a breakthrough in electronics, but more like a spa treatment for silicone.

Yeah, silicon's body.

But that calming of the surface is what lets everything else relax and scale.