Mecklenburg-Thermal Expansion in Aluminum Wire (IMAGE)

University of Southern California

Mecklenburg-Thermal Expansion in Aluminum Wire

Caption

This composite image shows density (grey) and temperature (color) maps of a 100 nm-wide polycrystalline aluminum wire. The temperature is computed from the density using aluminum's known thermal expansion. Lower densities appear at crystal-grain boundaries, which are atomic-scale features, and where thermal expansion has caused the aluminum to expand. One end of the wire (green) is near room temperature, and the other (orange) is 160 K warmer.

Credit

USC CEMMA & UCLA Regan Group

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