In the interactive simulation below, you choose a procedure to form a piece of metal. It shows how the atoms in a metal arrange to form domains.
The colour of each atom depends on its neighbours. If the neighbours are aligned horizontally, the atom is one colour. If it is rotated slightly, it changes to a different colour. The aim of this colour scheme is to show the different grains or domains within the lump: One domain will be a uniform-ish colour, and have a different colour around it. Grain boundaries can be any colour, and atoms around a defect are typically another colour again.
The different materials have different atomic properties, in particular, material 1 has a more localised attraction potential, and grain boundaries, slip surfaces and defects move much less than the other materials. By contrast, in material 3, the grain boundaries and defects move much more readily.
Alloys have two types of atoms, both with very similar atomic properties, but different radii.
No quantum mechanics is simulated here: The only physics here is a pair-wise potential between nearby atoms.
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