Size matters in determining strength of metals, inorganic material

A new research technique developed by a team of researchers including Jeff Florando of DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has shown that the mechanical properties of nickel and some of its alloys - such as their ability to resist permanent deformation under stress - are directly affected by the material's dimensions. The research, reported recently in Science , suggests that as the size of a specimen shrinks to a few microns (millionths of a meter) or less, the mechanisms by which the sample deforms can be strongly affected.