Metallic Glass Essay

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Title: Metallic Glass – Inception, Production and Uses Authors: Damian Schoneveld, . Central Institute of Technology August 2011. Abstract: Introduction: Glass is any material that can be cooled from a liquid to a solid without crystallizing. Most metals crystallise as they cool, arranging their atoms into a highly regular spatial pattern called a lattice. But if crystallization does not occur, and the atoms settle into a random arrangement, the final form is a metallic glass. http://repository.lib.ncsu.edu/ir/bitstream/1840.16/3470/5/ch1.pdf Metallic glasses were first discovered at Caltech in 1960 and found that if a molten metal is under cooled uniformly and rapidly enough, the atoms do not have enough time or energy to rearrange in normal crystallisation patterns. This amorphous liquid can then reach a glass transition temperature, and solidify as a metallic glass. This disordered atomic structure can provide metallic glasses with a combination of both the strength associated with glass and the toughness of metals. They are not transparent but exhibit a shiny lustre typical of other metals. (http://media.caltech.edu/press_releases/13415) First produced by non-conventional processing, and only in laboratory conditions, metallic glasses are now obtainable in bulk form, and have some established commercial applications (A. L. Greer, Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology p. 55290). Discussion: Johns Hopkins University (1998, March 30). Metallic Glass: Material Of The Future?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 17, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/1998/03/980331074950.htm Structure: In a crystal (below left), there is a great deal of regularity or order to the atomic positions. In comparison, the atomic positions in a glass (below right) are much more disordered. In a crystal (most metals), the local
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