[Sportschosun reporter Jang Jong-ho] A study has found that the Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945 created a new metallic material never before found on Earth.
The researchers said the extreme conditions of the nuclear blast, with intense heat and rapid cooling, produced an alloy with an atomic structure that had not existed before.
According to foreign media outlets including the Daily Mail, researchers at the University of Florence in Italy analyzed tiny radioactive fallout particles collected from the sands of Hiroshima Bay and found a new multicomponent alloy that does not match any metal known so far.
The material they examined was a metal crystal contained inside so-called Hiroshimaite, a glass-like microscopic particle formed when buildings, soil, glass, and various metal structures instantly vaporized and then condensed again at the time of the blast.
Using electron microscopy, chemical composition analysis, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, the team examined 34 microscopic particles and found that one metal particle, only a few micrometers in size, drew their attention.
The metal was made up of elements commonly found in stainless steel, including iron, chromium, nickel, manganese, molybdenum, silicon, and aluminum. However, its atomic arrangement did not match any alloy previously known.
The researchers estimated that at the moment of the nuclear blast, temperatures exceeding 7,000 degrees Celsius vaporized the entire city and formed a cloud of metal vapor. As the expanding fireball cooled rapidly within thousandths of a second, the atoms became trapped in a unique crystal structure that would not normally form.
After comparing the crystal structure with databases of thousands of existing metals, the team found no match and concluded that it was a new alloy that could only have formed inside the nuclear fireball.
The researchers explained, "We identified an unknown multicomponent alloy that appears to have formed during the Atomic Bomb explosion over Hiroshima in 1945." They added, "It is believed to have been created as mixed metal vapor condensed and then underwent ultra-rapid cooling."
The team said the discovery also has important implications for materials science. If new atomic structures that are difficult to create in nature can be reproduced in the laboratory, it could lead to the development of next-generation metal materials with strength, heat resistance, and light weight all at once.
They also suggested that Hiroshima fallout may still contain additional undiscovered substances.
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
