Korean researchers have found a new way to make metals stronger and more flexible. Korean researchers have developed a technique to increase both the strength and ductility of metals./pixabay Kim Hyung-seop, a professor at Postech's department of new materials engineering and graduate school of eco-friendly materials, announced on Thursday that they have increased both the strength and ductility of metals through the 'plasma nitriding method' that infiltrates nitrogen into the metal surface. The research results were published in the International Journal of Plasticity, a mechanical engineering journal, last December. The researchers developed a plasma nitriding technique that coats a metal surface with a ㎚ (nanometer, one billionth of a meter) thick nitride layer. It's like putting a protective film on a smartphone, but with a special layer of protection on the metal. Conventional plasma technology is dif...