Unique Metal Found at Hiroshima Blast Site
An international team of scientists has discovered a microscopic metal alloy with a unique crystal structure in the sands of Hiroshima. Inside a sample of hiroshimaite, a fragment of an iron-chromium alloy was found, whose composition has no analogues in nature. The alloy formed at temperatures exceeding 7000 °C at the epicenter of the explosion. A similar phenomenon was previously recorded only after the Trinity test in 1945. The discovery will help create super-strong alloys and improve nuclear forensics methods.
An international team of scientists has discovered microscopic particles of hiroshimaite in the sandy deposits of Hiroshima Bay, dating back 82 years. Inside one of the samples, a miniature fragment of an iron-chromium alloy with a fundamentally new crystal structure was found, whose chemical composition has no analogues in nature. Creating such a material using traditional metallurgical methods under ordinary terrestrial conditions is impossible. The alloy formed as a result of extreme temperatures at the epicenter of the explosion, exceeding 7000 °C, when metals, building structures, soil, and glass instantly vaporized and then rapidly condensed, stabilizing complex non-equilibrium phases. A similar phenomenon was previously recorded only once—after the Trinity nuclear test in the USA in 1945, where a unique quasicrystal formed. Scientists emphasize that debris from nuclear explosions serves as unique natural laboratories. Studying such materials will help develop a new generation of super-strong alloys and improve nuclear forensics methods for analyzing man-made and historical disasters.