Scanning electron microscope image of a crystalline dendriteKEVIN KAUFFMAN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGOResearchers are studying the mechanical properties of a class of metal alloys called bulk metallic glass composites, which are characterized by a random arrangement of atoms. Rapid cooling of these composites in their liquid state will cause them to form a spontaneous arrangement of crystalline and non-crystalline structures.
This image won the first annual Jacobs School of Engineering Art Contest.
