A New Breed Of Metal Alloys Has Arrived: Metallic Glass

It has long been the dream of materials scientists to combine the properties of metals with those of non-metals. Now it appears that one such material, the so-called "metallic glass" has arrived. Metallic glasses are, in essence, metal alloys with a chaotic structure where the atoms are ina disordered jumble, rather like the atoms in a liquid or a glass, hence the name. Obviously, there is much more to it than that and in the past year or so researchers have made metallic glass three times stronger than the best industrial steel and 10 times springier. This article examines the history of this fascinating material, and speculates as to what the future may hold.