This most fascinating article on physorg.com is reporting progress made in researching the properties of glassy metals, an exceptional state of matter not normally found in nature.A team of materials scientists from MIT, led by Carl V. Thompson of the Materials Processing Center, have built a microscopic array of cantilevers on which they have deposited alloys of the same two metals in slightly varying proportions, in order to compare their properties side-by-side.
Glassy metals are produced by quickly cooling, or 'quenching' as this is called, a molten metal alloy, in order to prevent its atoms from aligning themselves into a crystal lattice. Glassy metals have unusual magnetic and mechanical properties. Their magnetism is 'soft', which means it is easy to reorient and so for instance they can be used as cores in high-voltage electrical transformers. Glassy metals are also exceptionally hard and have a high degree of springiness, which means that they can get back into shape quickly after suffering a mechanical shock. For this reason they make excellent golf clubs!
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