Physicists Gain New Understanding of How Materials Break
Friday, November 4, 2016 - 12:01
in Physics & Chemistry
Scientists at the University of Chicago, New York University and Leiden University could eventually help create materials that resist breaking or crack in a predictable fashion. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Sept. 27, were the result of experiments and computer simulations in which researchers examined the effects of varying the rigidity of a material. Using both a simulation and artificial structures called metamaterials, they found material failure can be continuously tuned through changes in its underlying rigidity.