Liquidmetal Technologies Inc (LQMT)

[chipboarder]

Still thinking about building a part with a crystalline phase inside an amorphous matrix and I have to share the Sous-Vide analogy....the egg white solidifies at a 10 degree lower temperature than the yolk so if the water bath is intermediate between these two temperatures the yolk remains liquid indefinitely.

Instead of temperatures in the kitchen, we selectively control the RATE of cooling in the mould we can build crystalline stuff by cooling certain sections more slowly. Conversely, rapid cooling make for amorphous sections.

Perhaps the trick is in the alloy making step....rapid cooling of the alloying process results in a BMG whereas slower cooling gives crystalline structure. Read somewhere...crystalline alloys have a higher/sharper melting point than their amorphous counterparts (same composition). This could make it possible to disperse undissociated molten crystalline alloy into the molten amorphous matrix.

I’d bet it was a serendipitous discovery.