Alloy

Scientists experimenting with the makeup of metal alloys used for medical implants have made a significant breakthrough, resulting in a biomaterial with the flexibility and wear resistance needed for long-term stints in the human body.

Instead of being cast as a solid piece of material, 3D-printed items can include material exactly where it's needed. The Elix handlebar stem takes this approach to a performance-boosting – and pocketbook-emptying – extreme.

With a view to constructing more durable components that can withstand the very harsh environments in an around aircraft and jet engines, NASA researchers have developed a novel metal alloy with an impressive set of qualities at extreme temperatures.

City University of Hong Kong researchers have accidentally discovered a first-of-its-kind high-entropy alloy that retains its stiffness, and actually becomes springier, instead of softening at high temperature. No other known metals behave this way.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found that Earth’s inner core may be stranger than we thought. Rather than a plain solid, new simulations suggest it exists as a superionic state of matter, partway between a liquid and a solid.

As useful as steel is, its main weakness may be its vulnerability to corrosion. Researchers in Korea have now developed a new alloy coating that boosts steel’s resistance to rust, by adding a simple extra step in the surface treatment.

If you wanted to 3D-print an object that was magnetic in some areas only, you'd have to print two items out of different metals, then join them. A new technique, however, allows for the printing of single objects with gradient magnetic qualities.

Scientists at Rice University have cooked up a new alloy with a unique and diverse set of attributes that could prove highly effective at protecting steel from corrosion, and can even heal itself when damaged.

A new, surprisingly simple method merges two metals into one nanocrystal structure. This could allow almost any two metals to be combined, creating brand new types of intermetallic nanocrystals that could be useful for a whole range of applications.

Scientists in Russia experimenting with advanced aluminum alloys have developed a new heat-resistant form of the material that can endure far higher temperatures, potentially serving as a cheaper and lighter alternative to heavy and expensive copper.

Both cars and electronic appliances require heat removal systems, typically made of steel or aluminum. That may soon change, though, as scientists have created two magnesium alloys which they claim can reduce the weight of such systems by a third.

Scientists in Japan working to stretch the limits of super-elastic materials have made a significant breakthrough, demonstrating a new iron-based alloy that can be deformed and regain its original shape even in extreme temperatures.