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Nature 446, 995-996 (26 April 2007) | doi:10.1038/446995a; Published online 25 April 2007

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Mathematical physics: Added dimensions to grain growth

David Kinderlehrer1

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A long-standing mathematical model for the growth of grains in two dimensions has been generalized to three and higher dimensions. This will aid our practical understanding of certain crucial properties of materials.

Most engineered materials, including metals and ceramics, are polycrystalline — that is, they are composed of myriad, small, crystalline grains, separated by interfaces or boundaries (Fig. 1).

  1. David Kinderlehrer is in the Center for Nonlinear Analysis and the Department of Mathematical Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213-3890, USA.
    Email: davidk@andrew.cmu.edu

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