Most solid materials we rely on, from steel, to plastics and ceramics, are designed to have specific properties. Whether a material is soft and flexible, or stiff and tough depends on how molecules ...

Most solid materials we rely on, from steel, to plastics and ceramics, are designed to have specific properties. Whether a ...

Max-Planck and Fraunhofer ILT create the hard-yet-tough "sword steel" crystal structure; suited to various applications in industry. Damascene conversion: composite material with metal layers of ...

Every crystal's shape is a mirror of the internal arrangement of its molecules, but the molecules in photoswitchable crystals can expand, twist and change properties—from their color to their ...