Abstract
THE crystalline characters of metals have been much less completely studied than those of non-metallic minerals and artificial salts, owing in large part to the infrequency of occurrence of regular and well-defined crystals amongst metals. Masses of metal are now known, to be entirely crystalline, but special means are necessary in order to reveal their structure. In a few cases, notably that of bismuth, good results are obtained by pouring off the still liquid portion of a partly solidified mass of metal, when characteristic striated crystals of bismuth, recalling the Greek “key” pattern, result. Crystals are also obtained in relief on the surface of ingots cooled in contact with the air, tin, aluminium, and silver giving good results in this way. If the solidifying metal is spread out in a thin layer, the structure in relief may be developed in quite a remarkable degree, as when sheets of steel are dipped in molten zinc in the preparation of “galvanised” iron. The crystals (Fig. i) closely resemble those of frost figures on glass. Crystals of steel up to 15 in. in length are occasionally found in the cavity or “pipe” of large ingots, and these have a characteristic form—that of closely packed, spiky branches arranged at right angles to a main stem.
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The Crystallisation of Metals 1 . Nature 89, 359–360 (1912). https://doi.org/10.1038/089359a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/089359a0