prof. James' seminar annoucement

[Emanuele Tuillier Illingworth]

SEMINAR ANNOUNCEMENT


Speaker: prof. Richard James (University of Minnesota)

Date: Tuesday, 9 June, 2015 - 11:30

Room: SISSA - Santorio A - room 136

Abstract: We present some recent examples of new materials whose 
synthesis was guided by some essentially mathematical ideas. They are 
materials that undergo phase transformations from one crystal structure 
to another, with a change of shape but without diffusion. They are hard 
materials, but nevertheless show liquid-like changes of microstructure 
under a fraction of a degree change of temperature.  The underlying 
mathematical theory was designed to identify alloys that show low 
hysteresis and exceptional reversibility. The new alloys, of which 
Zn45Au30Cu25 is the best example so far, do show unprecedented levels of 
these properties, but also raise fundamental questions for theory. Some 
of these alloys have a strongly magnetic phase and a nonmagnetic phase. 
These can be used to convert heat to electricity (without the need of a 
separate electrical generator), and provide interesting possible ways to 
recover the vast amounts of energy stored on earth at small temperature 
difference.