Why do bicycles also love "magnesium"?

What? Bicycles love magnesium too?

It turns out that this car is mainly made of magnesium alloy!

Because the density of magnesium is only 1.74 grams per cubic centimeter, which is about two-thirds of aluminum and one-quarter of steel, magnesium is currently the lightest metal material in our daily applications.

Because magnesium has a very low density, if we use magnesium and magnesium alloys to make parts for bicycles, motorcycles, cars, and trains, we can greatly reduce the weight of the vehicles, making them lighter and faster. Moreover, magnesium alloys with excellent shock absorption properties can also make us feel more comfortable when riding. More importantly, the use of lightweight metals such as magnesium alloys can also reduce the carbon dioxide "exhaled" by cars and motorcycles, and better protect our earth's environment.

We can also use magnesium alloys to make parts for airplanes, rockets and satellites, making them consume less fuel.

Magnesium not only has a low density, but also can dissipate heat well, reduce vibration, and even shield electromagnetic radiation. In addition, magnesium alloys are extremely promising new generation battery materials and hydrogen storage materials. In the field of hydrogen storage, magnesium alloys are good at transporting and storing hydrogen!

Like a magic trick, magnesium alloys can "inhale" gaseous hydrogen into their "bodies" and "exhale" hydrogen when needed. Using magnesium alloys to "inhale" and "exhale" is not only safer than using high-pressure hydrogen cylinders, but also allows for larger amounts of "inhale" and "exhale". In this way, people can use hydrogen easily and safely for everything from charging mobile phones, lighting street lamps, and filling cars with hydrogen, to launching satellites.

Not only that, our bodies cannot do without magnesium. Without magnesium, calcium will have difficulty "entering" our bodies, or it will "go on strike" in the body and refuse to work properly. Over time, we may easily feel numbness in our arms and legs. If we accidentally break a bone, magnesium alloy can help us firmly fix the fracture site, accelerate its healing, and even prevent another fracture.

Magnesium has so many advantages. You may ask, is there no disadvantage at all?

Of course there is! That is, the plastic deformation ability of magnesium is relatively poor compared to iron and aluminum. If this problem is not solved, it will not be so easy to mix magnesium with other metals to make magnesium alloys and make various daily necessities.

You must have encountered rush hour when you were going to and from school, right? At that time, a large number of cars were crowded in the few lanes, and traffic jams were likely to occur. At this time, if we let some cars "fly" or "borrow" the new lanes next to them and run in different spaces, the problem of ground congestion will be immediately alleviated.

Processing magnesium alloys using traditional methods is like driving a sports car in a congested lane. You can’t “run” at all, let alone move through it.

Whoever can relieve the congestion of the "lane" and discover the secret of fast passage will have the key to open a new track! Academician Pan Fusheng of Chongqing University has achieved remarkable results in this regard.

In the past, many metal alloys were processed using symmetrical processing methods. This method is like using two rolling pins to flatten the metal material. However, the "body structure" of magnesium alloys "does not accept this method". The more symmetrical processing is pursued, the worse its performance will be!

Pan Fusheng said: "It's like you opened a door and discovered a world that others couldn't discover. You want to open another door. Curiosity is a major driving force for scientific research."

With a strong curiosity, Pan Fusheng and his team started a scientific research "exploration operation". "Every time we study a problem, we want to find out what is going on. We are fascinated."

Because of this obsession, Pan Fusheng could stay in the laboratory for a full 228 hours, that is, ten days and nine nights. If it weren't for the sudden power outage, he might not have stopped his work.

Pan Fusheng has been thinking, since the character of "magnesium" itself is too strong, and there is no way to change the "body structure" of magnesium alloy, can we change the angle and change the "rolling pin"? In scientific and technological innovation, it is also very important to learn to use reverse thinking.

Following this idea, Pan Fusheng and his team began to explore and experiment again and again, looking for new processing methods. But it is really difficult to change the "rolling pin". Don't be afraid of the difficulty, just do more experiments and try more.

With Pan Fusheng's persistence, the team finally invented the world's first new asymmetric processing technology that was different from traditional rolling and extrusion, and developed the "solid solution strengthening and plasticization" theory that was different from the traditional strengthening and toughening theory.

Using this technology to process magnesium alloys can allow magnesium atoms on the "lane" to "fly" away from the lane, or use the new "lane" next to it to find a more convenient way to pass in the crowded "lane". In this way, the plastic deformation capacity of magnesium and magnesium alloys is greatly improved, and magnesium alloys that have overcome their shortcomings can finally serve everyone better!

As a magical lightweight green material, magnesium and magnesium alloys have been well utilized by us in many important fields such as transportation, aerospace, and communications. Of course, there must be some undiscovered features and more application fields that have not been discovered, and these "exploration activities" are waiting for you to continue!

Source: Chongqing Industry-University-Research Cooperation Promotion Association

Author: Pan Fusheng, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor of Chongqing University, Chairman of Chongqing Association for Science and Technology

Review expert: Mao Yi, chief expert of Chongqing Science Communication Expert Group, professor of Chongqing Electronic Engineering Vocational College

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