Cracking Gold (IMAGE)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Cracking Gold

Caption

When gold wiring is built upon a plastic membrane with holes (a), bending the plastic produces only minor cracks in the gold (b), and the wire remains able to conduct electric signals. Compare this to bending gold on plastic lacking holes (c), which when bent produces far more drastic cracks (d) that would quickly break the electrical connection.

Credit

Reyes-Hernandez/NIST

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