Home > Press > Computer models explain patterns in bent crystals
 |
| pattern after strain. The bottom two are micrographs taken from a single copper crystal and single aluminum crystal after strain. |
Abstract:
Blacksmiths make horseshoes by heating, beating and bending iron, but what's happening to the metal's individual atoms during such a process? Cornell researchers, using computational modeling, are providing new insight into how atoms in crystals rearrange as the material is bent and shaped.
By Anne Ju
Computer models explain patterns in bent crystals
Ithaca, NY | Posted on September 3rd, 2010The researchers made computer-synthesized models of what such metals as aluminum and copper look like at the atomic level while being stretched, heated and cooled. They simulated how crystals, whose atoms start in a regular grid, transform as they are bent into different shapes.
Such new theories could lead to a better understanding of structural materials, from buildings to bridges, to make them less susceptible to tearing or breaking.
"We're really at the beginning stages of trying to develop a systematic theory of how materials evolve as we vary strain and temperature," said James Sethna, Cornell professor of physics, who leads the research.
The work is published in the Sept. 1 edition (Vol. 105 Issue 10) of Physical Review Letters, a publication of the American Physical Society.
When a single crystal is bent, portions of the crystal shift and create defects in the lattice called dislocations. The researchers found that their crystals exhibited starkly contrasting properties depending on temperature.
When hot crystals were bent, the dislocations arranged into grain boundaries, which are the places where lattice planes suddenly tilt. At low temperatures, the dislocations formed self-similar, random patterns known as fractals.
The work was funded by the Department of Energy and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Media Contact:
Blaine Friedlander
(607) 254-8093
Cornell Chronicle:
Anne Ju
(607) 255-9735
Copyright © Cornell University
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
| Related News Press |
News and information
Sensors innovations for smart lithium-based batteries: advancements, opportunities, and potential challenges August 8th, 2025
Deciphering local microstrain-induced optimization of asymmetric Fe single atomic sites for efficient oxygen reduction August 8th, 2025
Lab to industry: InSe wafer-scale breakthrough for future electronics August 8th, 2025
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
New imaging approach transforms study of bacterial biofilms August 8th, 2025
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Institute for Nanoscience hosts annual proposal planning meeting May 16th, 2025
Possible Futures
ICFO researchers overcome long-standing bottleneck in single photon detection with twisted 2D materials August 8th, 2025
New molecular technology targets tumors and simultaneously silences two ‘undruggable’ cancer genes August 8th, 2025
Simple algorithm paired with standard imaging tool could predict failure in lithium metal batteries August 8th, 2025
First real-time observation of two-dimensional melting process: Researchers at Mainz University unveil new insights into magnetic vortex structures August 8th, 2025
Academic/Education
Rice University launches Rice Synthetic Biology Institute to improve lives January 12th, 2024
Multi-institution, $4.6 million NSF grant to fund nanotechnology training September 9th, 2022
Materials/Metamaterials/Magnetoresistance
First real-time observation of two-dimensional melting process: Researchers at Mainz University unveil new insights into magnetic vortex structures August 8th, 2025
Researchers unveil a groundbreaking clay-based solution to capture carbon dioxide and combat climate change June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Institute for Nanoscience hosts annual proposal planning meeting May 16th, 2025
Announcements
Sensors innovations for smart lithium-based batteries: advancements, opportunities, and potential challenges August 8th, 2025
Deciphering local microstrain-induced optimization of asymmetric Fe single atomic sites for efficient oxygen reduction August 8th, 2025
Japan launches fully domestically produced quantum computer: Expo visitors to experience quantum computing firsthand August 8th, 2025
ICFO researchers overcome long-standing bottleneck in single photon detection with twisted 2D materials August 8th, 2025
Construction
Temperature-sensing building material changes color to save energy January 27th, 2023
Strain-sensing smart skin ready to deploy: Nanotube-embedded coating detects threats from wear and tear in large structures July 15th, 2022
A sunlight-driven “self-healing” anti-corrosion coating May 27th, 2022
Polymer fibers with graphene nanotubes make it possible to heat hard-to-reach, complex-shaped items February 11th, 2022
 |
||
 |
||
| The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
 |
||
|
|
||
| Premium Products | ||
 |
||
|
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
 |
||
|
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
|
|
||