Computer Simulation: Segregation of Copper Atom Impurities into Internal Defects and Grain Boundary (IMAGE)
Caption
Inside a grain of silver, copper atom impurities (in green) have been selectively segregated to a grain boundary (on the left) and into internal defects (long strings, streaming downward.) This snapshot, from an atomistic computer simulation, is part of a recent study showing how impurities can be used to create a new class of super-strong-but-still-conductive materials called "nanocrystalline-nanotwinned metals." This form of copper-doped silver is so strong that it's broken a long-standing theoretical limit, know as the ideal Hall-Petch strength.
Credit
Frederic Sansoz, UVM
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