Elementary Bulk Metallic Glass

Check out this article:

http://www.e4engineering.com/story.a...sj5d&id=217987

Apparently, some researchers have found a way to turn pure Zirconium
into a bulk metallic glass by using tremendous pressure. Right now, it
only seems to work with high purity Zr.

The material shows higher thermal stability compared to other mixed
bulk metallic glass alloys.

Could this be a winning material for space applications?
Or is the manufacturing method too difficult for practical
realization, even if the performance properties are attractive?

What about trying this out with other elements such as Titanium? Since
Titanium is always touted for its high strength relative to its mass,
could it be the basis for an even stronger pure bulk metallic glass?

"sanman" wrote in message
m...
Check out this article:

http://www.e4engineering.com/story.a...sj5d&id=217987

Apparently, some researchers have found a way to turn pure Zirconium
into a bulk metallic glass by using tremendous pressure. Right now, it
only seems to work with high purity Zr.

The material shows higher thermal stability compared to other mixed
bulk metallic glass alloys.

Could this be a winning material for space applications?
Or is the manufacturing method too difficult for practical
realization, even if the performance properties are attractive?

What about trying this out with other elements such as Titanium? Since
Titanium is always touted for its high strength relative to its mass,
could it be the basis for an even stronger pure bulk metallic glass?

Good idea. I like it, but considder this. Have you ever seen "Privacy
Windows"? These are glass that when an electric current is passed through
them, the electrons all line up and make it transparent. Otherwise they are
opaque. So could something similar be done with other materials?

On Fri, 23 Jul 2004, in sci.space.tech,
Renee Keller said:

"sanman" wrote in message
Apparently, some researchers have found a way to turn pure Zirconium
into a bulk metallic glass by using tremendous pressure. Right now, it
only seems to work with high purity Zr.

Have you ever seen "Privacy Windows"? These are glass that when an
electric current is passed through them, the electrons all line up and
make it transparent. Otherwise they are opaque. So could something
similar be done with other materials?

Metallic glasses are never transparent, they still have the opacity and
shiny surface you would associate with metals. It's the highly mobile
electrons that do that, and that doesn't change whether the material is
crystalline or amorphous.

--
Del Cotter
Thanks to the overwhelming volume of UBE, I am now rejecting *all* email
sent to . Please send your email to del2 instead.

"Renee Keller" wrote in message ink.net...
Good idea. I like it, but considder this. Have you ever seen "Privacy
Windows"? These are glass that when an electric current is passed through
them, the electrons all line up and make it transparent. Otherwise they are
opaque. So could something similar be done with other materials?

Hi, thanks for the comments, but don't confuse the concept of
"metallic glass" (aka "glassy metal") with the regular transparent
glass that windows are made of. Here, we are talking about an
amorphous metal whose atoms are not aligned in crystalline fashion.
Instead the atoms are in a tangled arrangement, giving a metal with
extraordinarily high strength. We're talking about strong metals here,
and not "glass" in the everyday ordinary sense.

Del Cotter wrote:

On Fri, 23 Jul 2004, in sci.space.tech,
Renee Keller said:

"sanman" wrote in message
Apparently, some researchers have found a way to turn pure Zirconium
into a bulk metallic glass by using tremendous pressure. Right now, it
only seems to work with high purity Zr.

Have you ever seen "Privacy Windows"? These are glass that when an
electric current is passed through them, the electrons all line up and
make it transparent. Otherwise they are opaque. So could something
similar be done with other materials?

Metallic glasses are never transparent, they still have the opacity and
shiny surface you would associate with metals. It's the highly mobile
electrons that do that, and that doesn't change whether the material is
crystalline or amorphous.

And there I was, Googling for transparent aluminum... -sigh-

On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 01:53:47 +0000, Remy Villeneuve wrote:

Del Cotter wrote:

Metallic glasses are never transparent, they still have the opacity and
shiny surface you would associate with metals. It's the highly mobile
electrons that do that, and that doesn't change whether the material is
crystalline or amorphous.

And there I was, Googling for transparent aluminum... -sigh-

The problem is the nomenclature

"Metallic Glass", with the adjectival "metallic" applied to the
commonly-known "glass", would atfirst glance seem to be a description of a
metallic form of glass with all the accompanying possible misconceptions.

But in actuality the material under discussion is a metal that has
been given some glass-like structural properties.

"Glassy Metal" would seem to be more accurate and less potentially
confusing... folks with actual material science knowledge are free to
correct me, of course

--
Chuck Stewart
"Anime-style catgirls: Threat? Menace? Or just studying algebra?"