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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Quantitative Hardness Measurement by Instrumented AFM-indentation
Published on: November 22, 2016
Magic numbers for metallic clusters and the principle of maximum hardness
1Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Abstract:
It is shown that for relatively more stable metallic clusters (those with magic number of atoms) the chemical hardness (I-A) too is relatively larger. Thus the occurrence of magic numbers for metal clusters whose stability is determined by their electronic shell structure can be understood as a manifestation of the principle of maximum hardness. This may also represent a possible way of delineating clusters with stability dominated by their electronic shell structure from those for which the magic numbers occur as a result of their geometric structure.
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