Size-specific cracking shakes out at the nanoscale

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Scanning electron microscope images of a cerium hydride stacked-plate nanostructure. a Typical stacked-plate cluster. b Close-up view of the edges of the plates in a. c Close-up view of another particle showing a finer fracture scale.
Scanning electron microscope images of a cerium hydride stacked-plate nanostructure. a Typical stacked-plate cluster. b Close-up view of the edges of the plates in a. c Close-up view of another particle showing a finer fracture scale.
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Certain sizes of nanostructures may be more susceptible to failure by fracture than others. That is the result of new research by LLNL's Michael Manley and colleagues from Los Alamos National Laboratory that appears as a Rapid Communication in the journal Physical Review B.


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