skowalskyNew here. Be aware that a lot of ppl have warped the bottom of CS pans by heating too fast with induction heaters. Just don't apply too much power too fast.
stevejaThanks for the tip! "Pure steel" pans can also burn out elements - my stove warns of not using a setting past "5" (of 10) ever with cast iron and steel pans.
DonV"Pure steel" is a funny term since steel is always an alloy containing at least carbon (cast iron has a lot of silica). I *suspect* the "5" setting is to avoid warping the pan due to localized heating. BTW the same problem occurs when heating pans on electric heating elements (less-so for gas burners).
The issue of localized overheating is this - steel, like most metal & alloys expand with temperature, and despite what one might think, steel (esp stainless) is a rather poor heat (and electrical) conductor. So if you heat too fast then, for example, the pan center may get hot and expands, while the outer rim remains relatively cool and expands less. This forces the pan center to bulge upward or downward, permanently warping the pan. Localized cooling, for example putting water in the bottom of a hot pan, is also a bad idea.
Aluminum & copper pans have much higher thermal (and electrical) conductivity, so it's harder (not impossible) to create warping.
Heating on a lower setting allows the temperatures to equalize across the pan to avoid warping.