If there is a steel plate floating in space, for ever, within the solar system, how is it going to degrade? Of course without oxygen it is not going to oxidize (rust), but how are cosmic rays, UV light, alpha particles and the general space environment going to affect the structure of steel on the long term?
EDIT: Let's imagine a plane of steel on orbit around the earth.
Just curious.
Answer
As previously mentioned, micrometeorite pitting will occur over sufficiently long time scales.
Steel is composed of microcrystalline grains, and as such it is likely that cosmic rays will cause the formation of crystallographic defects, leading to embrittlement of at least the periphery of the steel in the long term. Inelastic collision between the steel and ions or molecules floating in space may result in interesting chemistry on the surface of the steel, however this absolutely depends on the particular species the steel impacts with. Note also that space is very empty and as such collisions will happen with a very low frequency.
Ultraviolet light will cause photoelectronic emission. As such, the steel will develop a positive charge until the electron work function exceeds the energy of the light that is hitting it. This shouldn't degrade the metal, however very high energy photons (such as gamma rays) can cause crystallographic defects as discussed in this report by N.P. Baumann.
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