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Stephen Chen

Chinese physicists say they have developed a method that can cut the time involved in the discovery of alloys from years to hours.
The technique has led to the creation of high-performance alloys, including the world’s toughest amorphous metal, or metallic glass, for use in extremely hot environments.
The search for an alloy typically takes years, but now it can be done in less than two hours, according to the Chinese researchers.
Part of their findings was published in the journal Nature this month.

In the conventional method, metals needed to be weighed, melted to an alloy and tested for performance. To find the right formula, researchers might need to test more than a thousand combinations and each test might take a day or two.
Professor Wang Weihua, researcher with the institute of physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and lead scientist of the study, said his team’s research was inspired by early colour televisions, which used three electrical devices known as guns that fired red, green and blue light onto the back of the screen to create real-world colours for the viewer.
Wang’s team’s alloy technology also involved three guns, but instead of electronic pulses they fired “bullets” made of different metals. These struck a silicon board simultaneously and fused to form alloys.
Chinese University becomes first in world to build and test its own hypersonic plane
Sensors quickly measured the alloys’ properties and picked the most appropriate for the researchers.
This approach allowed scientists to create more than 1,000 samples, test their performance and select the most promising within a couple of hours.
“We proved it works,” Wang said. “It will increase people’s confidence. There will be a revolution in materials science.”
The alloy reported in the Nature paper contained iridium, nickel and tantalum. It had a distorted atomic structure similar to that of glass. Metallic glasses can be extremely strong but they usually weaken by temperatures of 400 degrees Celsius (752 degrees Fahrenheit) or more.

The new alloy could maintain a tensile strength nearly eight times that of steel at more than 700 degrees Celsius, researchers said.
It can also remain intact for months in aqua regia, the mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid that can dissolve gold and platinum.
Such properties make the alloy an ideal candidate material for manufacturing critical components for use in harsh environments such as space, ocean depths and battlefields.
“We are introducing artificial intelligence into the design and search for new amorphous metals,” Wang said. “It can further increase the speed of discoveries. In the near future, we may even be able to create material on demand.
“The potential application is almost unlimited.”


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Science

Revolutionary tech can cut search for new alloys from years to hours, Chinese physicist says

Speedy development of alloys may accelerate programmes to explore the harsh environments, such as space. Photo: Xinhua

Picture show the new super alloy discovered by the new technology.  HANDOUT PHOTO

Picture shows the scheme of triple-gun design of the new method for alloy discovery. HANDOUT PHOTO

Plane sailing: Titanium-made aircraft may give China new edge in aviation as scientists develop method to make pure metal better than alloys

epa05007036 Workers roll out the first C919 passenger jet plane at the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd (COMAC) in Shanghai, China 02 November 2015. China has spent seven years and huge amount to develop the 158-seat jet to boost its aviation industry, posing a challenge to Airbus and Boeing. EPA/STRINGER CHINA OUT

China's first big passenger plane C919, a narrow-body jet which can seat 168 passengers goes on display at a facility in commercial hub in Shanghai on November 2, 2015. The C919 rolled off the assembly line as the Asian giant seeks to develop its own aviation sector and challenge foreign industry giants for prestige and market share. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO

Workers roll out the first C919 passenger jet at the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) in Shanghai on November 2. Scientists say the new pure-metal breakthrough could make Chinese planes of the future even more competitive and safer. Photo: EPA

Critical roles played by Hong Kong researchers on China’s Chang’e 4 mission to far side of the moon

The lunar lander of the Chang'e-4 mission is seen in a photo taken by the rover. Photo: Xinhua/CNSA

(190111) -- BEIJING, Jan. 11, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Photo provided by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Jan. 4, 2019 shows image of Yutu-2, China's lunar rover, at preset location A on the surface of the far side of the moon. (Xinhua/CNSA)

(190111) -- BEIJING, Jan. 11, 2019 (Xinhua) -- The China National Space Administration on Jan. 11, 2019 releases the 360-degree panoramic photos taken by a camera installed on China's Chang'e-4 lunar probe (azimuthal projection). China's Chang'e-4 probe took panoramic photos on the lunar surface after it successfully made the first ever soft-landing on the far side of the moon. (Xinhua/China National Space Administration)

epa07275013 A handout photo made available by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) shows a 360-degree view from the lunar rover Yutu-2 or Jade Rabbit 2 on the far side of the moon taken by China's Chang'e-4 lunar probe, 11 January 2019. China announced on 11 January 2019 that the Chang'e-4 mission, which realized the first-ever soft-landing on the far side of the moon, was a complete success. China's Chang'e-4 lunar probe made the historic first ever soft landing on the far side of the moon on 03 January 2019 at 10.26am Beijing time (0226 GMT). It is the first spacecraft soft-landing on the moon's uncharted side that was never explored or visible from Earth. EPA-EFE/CNSA HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

(L-R) Wu Bo, Associate Professor, Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics of PolyU; Robert Tam Wai-man, Associate Director, Industrial Centre of PolyU; Alex Wai, Vice President (Research Development) of PolyU; and Yung Kai-leung, Chair Professor of Precision Engineering and Associate Head, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering of PolyU , attends the press conference of PolyU’s support to the lunar mission “Chang’e-4”, at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom. 14JAN19 SCMP / Sam Tsang

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Schematic illustration of ultralong carbon nanotube bundles composed of continuous carbon nanotubes. Photo: Wei Fei, Tsinghua University

JPG for ONLINE

Schematic illustration showing that the titanium dioxide nanoparticles work as a sheath to enhance the intertube connection inside a carbon nanotube bundle Photo: Wei Fei, Tsinghua University

Chinese scientists develop shape-shifting robot inspired by T-1000 from Terminator

The research was inspired by the shape-shifting killer android in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator series. Photo: Handout

photos showing the size of the robot utilised liquid metal.

Researcher Li Xiangpeng.

Tang Shiyang, research fellow with the University of Wollongong in Australia.

News

China

Inspired by early colour television, method can create thousands of alloys quickly
Leader of Beijing team says a ‘revolution in materials science’ is close to hand


Inspired by early colour television, method can create thousands of alloys quickly and leader of Beijing team says a ‘revolution in materials science’ is at hand for work and exploration in harshest environments.


China technology

Revolutionary tech can cut search for new alloys from years to hours, Chinese physicist says

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Inspired by early colour television, method can create thousands of alloys quickly Leader of Beijing team says a ‘revolution in materials science’ is close to hand

Inspired by early colour television, method can create thousands of alloys quickly

Leader of Beijing team says a ‘revolution in materials science’ is close to hand