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Science 9 December 2005:
Vol. 310. no. 5754, p. 1581
DOI: 10.1126/science.310.5754.1581d
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This Week in Science

Figure 1 Whether added deliberately or by accident, impurities or solutes have long been used to strengthen metals. A more recent discovery was that impurities can soften some metals, but the underlying reasons have not been fully understood. Using simulations, Trinkle and Woodward (p. 1665; see the Perspective by Chrzan ) show that for molybdenum, certain transition metal solutes can influence the energy barriers for dislocation motion, and in some cases, these changes lead to a softening of the metal. By reducing the strength, and thus the tendency to fracture abruptly, these modified metals may find expanded use in structural components.

CREDIT: TRINKLE AND WOODWARD




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)