Researchers examined a medium-entropy alloy, Nb45Ta25Ti15Hf15, alongside a simpler binary Nb70Ti30 alloy, testing their mechanical response at cryogenic temperatures down to 20 K. Using density functional theory, molecular dynamics with a machine-learning potential, and tensile experiments, they tracked how deformation shifts from dislocation glide to twinning as temperature drops, and assessed whether this shift affects the ductile-to-brittle transition.
nature.com
· 2026-10-14
Researchers examined a fragment of 'hiroshimaite,' fallout material from the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing, and identified a previously unknown alloy composed of seven elements. The discovery, imaged via scanning electron microscope, was published in Science Advances ahead of the bombing's 81st anniversary.
nature.com
· 2026-09-02
Scientists from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the University of Tsukuba built a solid-state cooling prototype that uses a shape-memory titanium-nickel film to convert heat directly into the mechanical motion needed to drive elastocaloric cooling, replacing the usual electric actuator. In tests, heating the actuator film to 86°C produced a 4.0 K temperature difference across the cooling device, and swapping in an external 130°C heat source still yielded a 2.2 K span, showing waste heat alone can power the cycle.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-08-31
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