New theory provides answers to why metals have the structures that they do
The simple concept shows that a metal’s structure results from chemical interactions between localised electrons, challenging the traditional free electron gas model
A simple, new theory that can explain why a metal forms a particular structure has been developed.1 The method allows researchers to understand and predict structures in solid compounds and alloys over a wide range of conditions. ‘This theory is based on our finding that the electrons in many metals occupy so-called quasi-atom orbitals, which are local quantum orbitals centred at the voids between atoms,’ explains Russell Hemley at the University of Illinois Chicago in the US, who led the study together with Maosheng Miao from California State University, Northridge. ‘The chemical interactions between such localised electrons control the metal structures,’ he adds.