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The Yale Alumni Magazine is owned and operated by Yale Alumni Publications, Inc., a nonprofit corporation independent of Yale University. The content of the magazine and its website is the responsibility of the editors and does not necessarily reflect the views of Yale or its officers. |
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Being a mechanical engineer, Jan Schroers never expected to work in high fashion. But last year, the Yale scientist got a call from Chanel. An executive there had read about his research on the high-strength, lightweight alloys called amorphous metals. Schroers is patenting a technique for blow-molding these metals into almost any shape, while imprinting nanoscale surface details no bigger than a few atoms—far finer than ordinary metals can register. “These materials are harder than steel but as easy to form as plastics,” says Schroers. Could he reproduce Chanel’s signature perfume bottle in metal? he was asked. No problem. At top right is the mold, at lower left the raw material, and, at bottom, two half-bottles—sliced open to show the thinness of the walls. Next stop, Prada. |
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©1992–2012, Yale Alumni Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Yale Alumni Magazine, P.O. Box 1905, New Haven, CT 06509-1905, USA. yam@yale.edu |
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