A group of researchers from Berkeley Lab has developed a material that is considered the toughest and most durable in the world. This material is called metallic glass, and is made of palladium alloy and glass. The material includes 79% palladium, 3.5% silver, 6% phosphorus, 9.5% and 2% of silicon germanium.
Although the glass materials are inherently strong, due to the lack of crystalline microstructure, but their big disadvantage is brittleness, which is often manifested by extreme lack of resistance to scratching and cracking. Unlike ordinary glass, metallic glasses have the ability to move the emerging cracks in the form of bands and block their proliferation, and thus combine the advantages of brittle ceramic materials, and extremely hard metal.
The resulting amorphous material exhibits exceptional resistance to damage, not yet reached beyond the parameters of the toughest and strongest materials. Metal glass alloy of palladium was tested for tensile strength, which showed satisfactory results - so we know that it will be able to be applied where hardness and resistance to the forces of elasticity is needed. When scratches appear on the glass material, a metal beam of cracs is produced that surrounds the crack and prevents it from spreading. Glass, metal alloy of palladium is thereby highly resistant to damaging agents.
Medicine involves a lot of hope with metallic glasses. Currently it is under investigation into the use of such materials in the implants, especially when it comes to supporting the treatment of bone fractures, even in the form of bolts connecting the fragments. According to Marios D. Demetriou - one of the creators of the material that will be used in the manufacture of dental implants and other implants used in medicine, it is very likely because their production costs are very high and so making use of this expensive material could be justified.
The new tougher to forces implants could improve the quality of life of patients to whom they were applied, however, to assess the suitability of the material it is necessary to examine its effect on the body and the biocompatibility of the tissue. It would be perfect it the biomaterial described underwent osseointegration, as well as titanium compounds, which correspond to currently used dental implants.
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