| Abstract Scope |
There is a hidden power and beauty in Cantor’s first expedition into the centers of complex, multi-component phase spaces. In a single experiment, an equimolar alloy with 20 principal elements probed over a million different alloy families. The multi-phase microstructures that were produced by casting and melt-spinning this remarkable alloy were both dominated by a solid solution of primarily five of the 20 elements, again in nearly equimolar proportions, with smaller dissolved quantities of other elements. This single experiment thus uncovered a solid solution phase with exceptional thermodynamic stability and compositional range. In the 20 years since this result was first published in the open literature, the Cantor alloy has been prodded, stretched, contracted, and measured in almost countless ways. This presentation revisits Cantor’s initial work, with a fresh perspective made possible by 20 years of extensive work on multi-component materials that was not available when the paper was first published. Additional insights into the phase stability and applicability to other elemental palettes and alloy families are explored. |