Energies in materials science: a gem!

Stop everything. Go get this paper:

A survey of energies in materials science, F Spaepen, Philosophical magazine, Vol. 85, Nos. 26-27, 11-21 September 2005, 2979-2987.

(Unfortunately, the Taylor & Francis Ingenta system does not give me a html page to bookmark and share the same with you all).

The paper tabulates the thermal, structural, chemical, defect energies, and energies associated with externally applied stresses, strains, magnetic fields, or supersaturation; what emerges from such a tabulation is some truly startling insights (which, at least I haven't seen anywhere else). Here are some samples for you:

Chemistry always wins - Attributed to WD Nix

Ion-induced amorphization, occurs by the direct displacement of atoms (rather than via defect creation), while, mechanical alloying induced amorphization is a result of chemical mixing (and, not due to the storage of mechanical energy).

A simple argument, based on the polytetrahedral nature of the structure of liquids, to explain why the configurational part of the entropy of melting for many elements is close to 1k, where k is the Boltzmann constant.

On the whole, a not-to-be-missed paper; and more than that, a paper to ponder, to savour, and to internalise and extend.