Metals

A team of engineers at MIT has discovered why steel razor blades go dull even when cutting hair that's 50 times softer than them. Using an electron microscopic, they found that under the right conditions a single hair can chip a blade edge.

When it comes to the 3D printing of metal, a process known as selective laser sintering (SLS) is most commonly used. An upside-down variation on the technique has now been developed, for printing single objects out of different materials.

One small, particularly puzzling group of meteorites appears to have been both solid rock and liquid metal. Now scientists have determined that the parent body had a rocky shell and a liquid metal core, which likely generated a strong magnetic field.

“Strange metals” exhibit some unusual conductive properties and surprisingly, even have things in common with black holes. Now, a new study has characterized them in more detail, and found that strange metals constitute a new state of matter.

Radiation is famously damaging to materials, but now engineers at MIT have been surprised to discover that radiation may actually help certain alloys to self-heal, extending their useful lifetime. This could help inform future power plant designs.

Researchers claim to have developed a new battery that mixes the best of both liquid and solid batteries. The new design is the first all-liquid-metal battery that can operate at room temperature, and it apparently outperforms lithium-ion batteries.

Fireworks are a surefire way to create a spectacle of color and light, but research has revealed these dazzling displays could pose a health risk by releasing a range of harmful toxins that can linger in the air once the lights go out.

A new type of data storage system could be denser, smaller, faster and more energy efficient than silicon chips. The new method involves encoding data in sliding stacks of two-dimensional layers of metals.

Making true Damascus steel is a lost art and even the modern version, made using two different grades of steel alloy, involves more art than science. Now researchers are bringing Damascus steel into the 21st century using 3D printers and lasers.

Although it's possible to 3D-print metal objects, such items can't always be formed down to the sub-millimeter precision required for certain applications. A new technique, however, allows them to be infinitesimally tweaked after being printed.

Whenever you try to improve steel, there are usually tradeoffs involved. It’s a balancing act between different properties. Now, engineers have developed a new type of “super steel” that defies this, staying strong while still resisting fractures.

The colorful glaze on that ceramic mug of yours may look nice, but there's a chance that it could contain toxic substances. US scientists have thus created a safer type of glaze, that incorporates tiny particles of silver and gold.