Group 12 element divalent metals. They have the lowest melting points among all transition metals. Zinc is bluish-white and lustrous, though most common commercial grades of the metal have a dull finish. Zinc is also referred to in nonscientific contexts as "spelter". Cadmium is soft, malleable, ductile, and with a bluish-white color. Mercury is a liquid, heavy, silvery-white metal. It is the only common liquid metal at ordinary temperatures, and as compared to other metals, it is a poor conductor of heat, but a fair conductor of electricity. The table below is a summary of the key physical properties of the group 12
Microstructurally stable nanocrystalline alloys Microstructurally stable nanocrystalline alloys Microstructurally stable nanocrystalline alloys are alloys that are designed to resist microstructural coarsening under various thermo-mechanical loading conditions. Many applications of metal materials require that they can maintain their structure and strength despite very high temperatures. Efforts to prevent deformations from long term stress, referred to as creep, consist of manipulating alloys to reduce coarsening and migration of individual grains within the metal. The small size of individual metal grains provides high interfacial surface energy which is what prompts coarsening, the increase in grain size, and eventually metallic softening. Nanocrystalline creep is considered to follow the