Ever wonder what a surface looks like at the microscale? Atomic force microscopy is commonly used in materials science to visualize surface topology. While it is often considered to be quite slow, it is often a useful materials characterization technique. Image credit [http://staff.ustc.edu.cn/~bxlin/harvest_e.

Understanding of fracture behavior is useful in selecting materials for product designs, and it is incredibly valuable to know if a material will experience a ductile-brittle transition and what temperature this transition occurs. Knowledge of a material's ductile-brittle transition temperature can prevent catastrophes such as the WW2 Liberty

X-ray diffraction is a common materials characterization technique that allows for identification of crystal orientations and interatomic spacing. X-rays are used for this because the wavelength is on the same length scale as interatomic spacing and lattice parameter values. What's going on? An x-ray is generated in a

Ever wonder how we can see things so small, the human eye doesn't even know it exists? Today I'll be writing about how scanning electron microscopes allow us to see far beyond what traditional microscopes can provide. You see, optical microscopy (which uses visible light waves