Evening star., 1950-05-31
New MetoIIurey Is Born
In U. of Va. Experiments
Foundations Loid for Ace
Of Superior Products
BY Thomos r. Henry

CHARLOTTESVILLE. Va. May 3i-
A new metallurgy is being born here.
II Is laying possible foundations for
an age of handmade iron. copper and
all the other metals used in industry
which will be enormously superior to
the natural products now in use.
1t started as q wartime Government
project at the University OF Virginia
chemical laboratories. Little progress
was made up to the conclusion Of the
war. but the potentialitieS appeared
greater and greater as the work went on.
Any metal. explains DR.. Allan T.
Gwathmay is made UP OF crystals
definite arrangements Of atoms or mole
cules with varying numbers Of faces"
A crystal. for example. might be In the
form of a pyramid with Ave faces.
Ordinarily these crystals are too small
TO be seen with the naked eye. In any
metal surface they appear 70 be ar
ranged haphazardly. Different faces are
chaotically lumbled together.
Depends on Surface.
Some OF the most important proper
ties Of any metal depend on its surface.
It is there. for example. that iron COM
oines with oxygen and rusts. 1t is there
that oils form Aims. q matter Of the
utmost Importance for all bearings and
moving parts of machines. 1t is due TO
their surface properties that metals act
as catalystS. promoting chemical reac-
tions without taking part in them
Friction occurs on these surfaces.
Now 1t long has been realized, Dr..
Gwathmay explains. that different sam
pies OF the same metal vary enormously
In different properties. Some iron. for
example, will rust five times faster than
other iron, superficially indiStinguish-
able. This is due primarily to the faces
OF the crystals which happen to be ex-
posed on the surface.
The work now in progress here is
lcoorious determination of these differ
enceS between the sides of the crystals.
With natural crystals. too tiny to be
handled. this would be impossible. At
the University Of Virginia laboratory.
however. has been developed unique
technique of artificially growing metal
crystals several thousand times larger
than those found in nature. DR.. Gwath-
may has crystals OF copper. for example,
which weigh close to a pound.
But the molecular arrangement Is the
same as in the microscopic natural crys-
tails. The different faces are exposed to
the various metallurgical processes and
the variations in reactions observed.
Some OF these are quite remarkable.
Rusting is notable example The OBJ
vious implication is to remake the metals
by melting and then recrystallizing them
with surfaces all formed from the same
faces. depending on the use to which
the metal is to be put. This, DR.. Gwath-
may believes, will be an entirely possible
technical operation, economically practi-
cal in the not distant future for limited
uses and eventually for all uses.
Defines = Catalyst.
The closest prospect is for metals used
as 'catalysts." A good definition Of a
catalyst. DR.. Gwathmay says, is a man
who can get others to work without
working himself. On the properties Of
metals in this respect depend In large
measure the production of explosives.
aviation gasoline. synthetic rubber and
fertilizers Perhaps the greatest develop
ments were made by the Germans during
the war In the so-called Fischer -Tropsch
process for the production of synthetic
fuels. On the properties of metals as
catalystS depend the greater part OF the
worlds chemical industry today.
But the catalysts have a tendency to
act up" Sometimes they will fail al
together after a short time and it In
necessary to suspend operations. The
experiments with the large-sized arti-
f1cial crystals have shown the reason
for this
Another remarkable property Of metal
surface is its ability to make certain
molecules. with which it comes in con-
tact. stand on their ends like matchsticks
on their heads. This property is of vital
Importance in the fabrication of metal
parts Of airplanes and automobiles. Lu-
bricants contain long chain molecules
with heads at one end which cling with
great force to. and protect, the metals
used in bearings. The films of the lu-
bricant which form over the surface
OF the metal depend very largely on the
faces of the crystals exposed During
the war there were some notable failures
OF the airplane oiling mechanism be-
cause the wrong faces happened to be ex-
posed.
The eventual possibilities, Dr. Gwath-
may says, are to increase enormously
the number of metals available to in
dustry. There can. for example, be
four or five different kinds OF copper
whose properties will differ as much
as those Of two entirely different metals