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Scientists have discovered how to melt gold at room temperature
An international team of researchers came across this revelation almost by accident.
Knoop's Ludvig, a postdoc at the Chalmers University of Technology, was interested in seeing how the highest magnification of an electron microscope was influencing the atoms of gold.
"I was really surprised by the discovery," he said, after discovering that the superficial layers had melted – at room temperature.
extraordinary phenomenon, and this gives us new fundamental knowledge about gold, "added Knoop.
Using computer modeling, the team learned that the surface smelting phase did not come from an increase in temperature, but rather the fields.
In simple terms, the gold atoms became excited.
Think of the electric field as an amorous interest: when they are close to each other, the atoms become gnarled, sweaty and generally agitated – los
"The discovery of how the gold atoms can lose their structure in this way is not only spectacular, but also scientifically revolutionary, "according to Chalmers.
Together with The theorist Mikael Juhani Kuisma of the Finnish University of Jyväskylä, Knoop & Co. "has opened new paths in the field of materials science," said the university.
Researchers also discovered that it was possible to switch between a solid and molten structure, which could lead to new types of sensors, catalysts, transistors and non-contact components.
"Because we can control and modify the properties of the surface layers of atoms, it opens the door to different types of applications," says Eva Olsson, co-author of this study. a professor from the physics department of Chalmers, said in a statement.
Do not expect to start a criminal enterprise by melting gold blocks by raising the electric field, however. 19659002] "I would say this is not possible," Knoop told Digital Trends.
The melting of the surface of any object of a width greater than a few nanometers (like its gold cone) "would require an unavailable voltage," he said.
All details of the study were published in the journal Physical Review Materials .
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