When a liquid metal cools and turns into a solid, its atoms come together to form crystals. The structure of these crystals is not perfect. Sometimes an extra layer of atoms squeezes between other ...

In the diagrams presented in the other three sections, the points show where atoms would lie if there were no motion due to heat; that is, if the metal's temperature were at absolute zero (-273°C).

Before going on to consider liquid metals themselves, it will be as well to deal first with the general question of the structure of liquids.

The diagram shows a simple model of metallic structure. The metal ions are shown as tiny spheres, packed closely together in a regular pattern.

Mark Miodownik uses a computer animation to outline the lattice arrangement of atoms in solid metals - a configuration that makes metals both malleable and strong.

Microstructural analysis of this forged iron structure revealed an extraordinary convergence of properties that resulted in ...