How to grow a tiny metallic snowflake

Scientists at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, are working at the level of atoms to create something unexpected: tiny metallic snowflakes. During their research, they discovered that interactions between the atomistic structures of various metals and liquid gallium cause differently shaped crystals to emerge.

Microscopy and modeling help examine battery wear and tear

Researchers at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) have now used a combination of high-powered electron microscopy and computational modeling to understand exactly what occurs, on an atomic level, when lithium-ion batteries degrade. Their research points toward one approach to designing longer-lasting lithium-ion batteries—by focusing on the carbon binder domain (CBD).

Scientists create ’shape-shifting’ metal robot which melts through bars

Engineers have designed miniature robots that rapidly and reversibly shift between liquid and solid states. Scientists from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh took gallium, a metal that melts at room temperature, and enriched it with magnetic particles. When an alternate magnetic field is run through the metal, it can melt, move, and re-form.