Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing02:39

Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing

Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Non-Stoichiometric Defects01:29

Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Non-Stoichiometric Defects

Non-stoichiometric defects refer to a type of defect in the crystal structure of a compound where the ratio of its constituent elements deviates from the ideal stoichiometric ratio. There are two main types of non-stoichiometric defects: metal excess defects and metal deficiency defects.Metal excess defects occur when there is a slight surplus of metal ions than what is required by the stoichiometric ratio of the compound. For example, heating a sodium chloride crystal in sodium vapor results...
Phase Transitions02:31

Phase Transitions

Whether solid, liquid, or gas, a substance's state depends on the order and arrangement of its particles (atoms, molecules, or ions). Particles in the solid pack closely together, generally in a pattern. The particles vibrate about their fixed positions but do not move or squeeze past their neighbors. In liquids, although the particles are closely spaced, they are randomly arranged. The position of the particles are not fixed—that is, they are free to move past their neighbors to occupy...
Phase Transitions01:21

Phase Transitions

A phase transition is the process in which a substance changes from one state of matter to another, like from a solid to a liquid, liquid to gas, or vice versa, at a specific temperature and under given pressure conditions. This change is spontaneous and is affected by alterations in temperature and pressure. These parameters impact the strength of the forces between molecules (intermolecular forces) in the substance.During a phase transition, both the initial and final phases of the substance...
Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Point, Line and Plane Defects01:25

Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Point, Line and Plane Defects

A perfect crystal, in theory, has a uniform structure with the same unit cell and lattice points throughout. However, any deviation from this periodic arrangement is known as an imperfection or defect. These defects can be categorized into three types: point, line, and plane defects.Point defects occur when there is a deviation from the ideal due to missing atoms, displaced atoms, or additional atoms. These imperfections might occur due to imperfect packing during crystallization or because of...
Bonding in Metals02:32

Bonding in Metals

Metallic bonds are formed between two metal atoms. A simplified model to describe metallic bonding has been developed by Paul Drüde called the “Electron Sea Model”.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Atomic Evolution of Hydrogen Intercalation Wave Dynamics in Palladium Nanocrystals Revealed by Liquid-Phase Transmission Electron Microscopy.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026
Same author

Nanocrystal Geometry Governs Phase Transformation Pathways in Palladium Hydride.

ACS nano·2026
Same author

Extended Rice-Thomson analysis and atomistic simulations revealing grain boundary effects on fracture in refractory high-entropy alloys.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Monte Carlo Simulations of Crystal Defects in Open Ensembles.

Physical review letters·2026
Same author

A foundation model for atomistic materials chemistry.

The Journal of chemical physics·2025
Same author

Density Functional Theory Study of Iron-Oxygen Divacancies in Magnetite (Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>) and Hematite (Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>).

The journal of physical chemistry. C, Nanomaterials and interfaces·2025
Same journal

Demonstration of a quantum C-NOT gate in a time-multiplexed fully reconfigurable photonic processor.

Nature communications·2026
Same journal

Nonlinear quantum light source with van der Waals ferroelectric NbOX<sub>2</sub> (X = Br, I).

Nature communications·2026
Same journal

Antagonistic histone H2A variants and autonomous heterochromatin formation shape epigenomic patterns in Arabidopsis.

Nature communications·2026
Same journal

The long tail of nitrate pollution in groundwater challenges governance of global water quality.

Nature communications·2026
Same journal

Select microbial metabolites promote tau aggregation in a murine tauopathy model.

Nature communications·2026
Same journal

Warming climate has lengthened global intense tropical cyclone seasons.

Nature communications·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

Determining the Mechanical Strength of Ultra-Fine-Grained Metals
05:04

Determining the Mechanical Strength of Ultra-Fine-Grained Metals

Published on: November 22, 2021

Structural phase transformations in metallic grain boundaries.

Timofey Frolov1, David L Olmsted, Mark Asta

  • 1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. timfrol@berkeley.edu

Nature Communications
|May 23, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers discovered new grain boundary phases in metals using advanced simulation methods. These phases enable materials to heal radiation damage, improving their resistance and durability.

More Related Videos

Processing of Bulk Nanocrystalline Metals at the US Army Research Laboratory
08:58

Processing of Bulk Nanocrystalline Metals at the US Army Research Laboratory

Published on: March 7, 2018

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
08:55

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses

Published on: June 7, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 11, 2026

Determining the Mechanical Strength of Ultra-Fine-Grained Metals
05:04

Determining the Mechanical Strength of Ultra-Fine-Grained Metals

Published on: November 22, 2021

Processing of Bulk Nanocrystalline Metals at the US Army Research Laboratory
08:58

Processing of Bulk Nanocrystalline Metals at the US Army Research Laboratory

Published on: March 7, 2018

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
08:55

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses

Published on: June 7, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Computational Materials Science

Background:

  • Structural transformations at interfaces are key to understanding phase transitions in low-dimensional systems.
  • Previous research lacked evidence for structural transformations in high-angle grain boundaries within elemental systems.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To address the limitations of existing atomistic modeling methodologies for observing structural transformations in grain boundaries.
  • To reveal and characterize new grain boundary phases and their transformation mechanisms.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a novel atomistic simulation methodology allowing for variations in atomic density within grain boundaries.
  • Observation of phase transformations by manipulating temperature and introducing point defects.

Main Results:

  • Identification of multiple distinct grain boundary phases with unique atomic structures.
  • Demonstration of reversible first-order phase transformations between these identified phases.
  • Evidence that grain boundaries can absorb significant point defects due to multiple metastable phases.

Conclusions:

  • The developed methodology overcomes previous simulation limitations, enabling the observation of structural transformations in high-angle grain boundaries.
  • Grain boundaries can act as a mechanism for radiation damage healing in metals.
  • Findings suggest new avenues for enhancing the radiation resistance of metallic materials through grain boundary engineering.