melting point

“The air coming in is hotter than the melting point of the metal underneath – which is obviously not a good thing,” he explains, pointing out that this air reaches temperatures well above 1,000C.

"We believe our method will generalize to other materials, such as tin, selenium, tellurium and related alloys with low melting points, and it could be interesting to explore for future flexible electronic circuits."

His research, published in the Physical Review E, unveils a general theory for predicting melting points, a fundamental property whose understanding has baffled scientists for over a century.

Some consist of only one type of plastic, while others may contain several types that may even have different melting points.

Earlier this year, researchers at Pennsylvania State University filed a patent application for a new type of glass that — because of its lower melting point — can be produced with 30% less energy, lowering emissions significantly.