I love this micrograph. I could stare at its beautiful blue colors and cellular microstructure all day long. It’s a bit abstract.

We spend a lot of time talking about grains in material science. Grains this, grains that.

Most people don’t know about grains. Who can blame ‘em, they’re usually really tiny, invisible to the human eye, waiting to be have their secrets uncovered by a curious metallographer…

This mosquito messed with the wrong metallographer. I’m new to Georgia. It has been hot, muggy, and buggy. People told me this would happen, and I went anyway.

Here’s my attempt at turning lemons into lemonade.

Do you remember Blue’s Clues? Of course you do - you’re cultured! I’m struggling to tie this title choice into what I actually want to talk about.. but I’m sticking to it!

Cellular structures present themselves in many different ways across our world. In additive manufacturing (metal 3D printing), cellular structures are formed by rapid solidification…

Interdisciplinary spaghetti. That’s kinda what additive manufacturing is like. It’s all over the place and yet all the noodles are locked together.

The translucent nature of these red-orange crystals allowed for utilizing transmitted illumination, which isn't something I commonly use in day-to-day metallography.

There’s beauty in failure - in life and especially in metallography. When the wind is at your back and seas are calm, your “brain-muscles” are atrophying. Failure forces us to adapt, to change our mindset. Failure challenges us in a way that success never could.

See, the thing you have to know about random etching recipes you find online is that they’re about as good as great grandma’s cookie recipe. You know, the one that tells you to add a few dashes of salt and a pinch of baking soda that leaves you wondering WTF is a dash. Baking is chemistry grandma! We want exact measurements!