Crystal structure of metals can change at linear defects, which should affect the properties of the materials
Steel has already been around for roughly 3000 years and in several thousand variations today - yet it is always good for a surprise. Scientists at the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung in Düsseldorf have now made a discovery in manganese steel which is thought to affect the properties of the material for good and bad. They have found out that the alloy forms a different crystal structure at linear defects than is typical for the material. The individual crystal grains of which any metal is composed can be considered as a stack of individual atomic layers. Linear defects, or more precisely edge dislocations, occur when a layer remains incomplete so that the layers above and below it must take a step. As the length of the linear defects in a cubic metre of steel can add up to one light year, the discovery ought to have great practical significance since the...