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Not too big, not too small: The appropriate scale

Nature Materials volume 2, pages 77–83 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

The tools we use at the human scale, whether mechanical, medical or microelectronic, depend on materials for which some other scale of length or time is critical. Often this is the mesoscale, between the scales of engineering and of atomic science. Linking underlying processes to what we handle is sometimes called 'spanning' (or 'bridging') length scales, giving the impression that the mesoscale is a swamp to be crossed without getting mud on our boots. This is misleading: we do not wish to span the mesoscale, but to work at the appropriate scale, and to connect that to our human needs. The appropriate scale need not rule out multiscale computer modelling, in which some supercode integrates relevant scales in one pass, hoping to combine the best of methods for two or more levels. But the reality for such attempts, too often, is that the worst of both regimes are found. Happily, simpler strategies at a judicious scale will often suffice.

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Figure 1: Bone is a hierarchical material which is also a self-designing system.
Figure 2: Grain structure in a nuclear fuel element.
Figure 3: Variation in flux line energy in a ceramic superconductor.
Figure 4: Model polymer structure for a light-emitting diode.
Figure 5: Surface evolution during laser ablation of a ceramic.
Figure 6: Microstructure in a plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coating.
Figure 7: Strategy for predicting the properties of plasma-sprayed coatings56.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    A. Marshall Stoneham & John H Harding

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Correspondence to A. Marshall Stoneham.

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Stoneham, A., Harding, J. Not too big, not too small: The appropriate scale. Nature Mater 2, 77–83 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat804

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