Metal aesthetics of metallic jewelry. Some metals have specialized uses; mercury is a liquid at room temperature and is used in switches to complete a circuit when it flows over the switch contacts. Radioactive metals such as uranium and plutonium are used in nuclear power plants to produce energy via nuclear fission. Shape memory alloys are used for applications such as pipes, fasteners and vascular stents. Metals can be doped with foreign molecules—organic, inorganic, biological and polymers. This doping entails the metal with new properties that are induced by the guest molecules. Applications in catalysis, medicine, electrochemical cells, corrosion and more
Liquid metal embrittlement it. The practical significance of liquid metal embrittlement is revealed by the observation that several steels experience ductility losses and cracking during hot-dip galvanizing or during subsequent fabrication. Cracking can occur catastrophically and very high crack growth rates have been measured. Similar metal embrittlement effects can be observed even in the solid state, when one of the metals is brought close to its melting point; e.g. cadmium-coated parts operating at high temperature. This phenomenon is known as solid metal embrittlement. Liquid metal embrittlement or LME is characterized by the reduction in the threshold stress intensity, true fracture stress or in