Superelasticity of a photoactuating chiral crystal

Superelasticity is an elastic response to an applied external force that occurs via phase transformation. The resulting actuation of the materials is an elastic response to external stimuli, including light and heat. While ...

Physicists turn liquid into solid using an electric field

(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists have predicted that under the influence of sufficiently high electric fields, liquid droplets of certain materials will undergo solidification, forming crystallites at temperature and pressure ...

Cerium's unusual behaviour

(PhysOrg.com) -- Livermore researchers have found that a crystal of cerium -- the chemical element that can be used for catalysts and fuel additives -- behaves in very unique ways when subjected to high pressures.

Tiny but mighty precipitates toughen a structural alloy

Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have found a way to simultaneously increase the strength and ductility of an alloy by introducing tiny precipitates ...

Order out of disorder in ice

The glass structure of a material is often believed to mimic its corresponding liquid. Polyamorphism between ices has been used as a guide to elucidate the properties of liquid water. But how many forms of amorphous ices ...

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