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The notion that plasticity is governed not by the steady flow of a material under an applied stress, but by the occurrence of intermittent avalanches of defects moving through the material, is gaining increasing acceptance. A new study of plastic deformation in polycrystalline materials suggests that the situation could be even more complex than once thought.
The finding that carbon nanotube–elastomer nanocomposites can either contract or expand reversibly on exposure to light is surprising and hard to explain. But this may create a new avenue for the development of light-controlled actuators.
One of the largest controversial issues of the materials science community is the interpretation of scaling laws on material strength. In spite of the prevailing view, which considers mechanics as the real cause of such effects, here, we propose a different argument, purely based on geometry. Thus, as happened for relativity, geometry could again hold an unexpected and fundamental role.
Doping high-temperature superconductors with calcium improves their current-carrying capacity. Two microscopy studies provide insight into how this doping works.