Have students brainstorm a list of common uses of metal alloys (e.g., a door frame, a doorknob, or a paper clip). Write these on the board. Discuss with students what characteristics make these metal ...

Samurai swords are reputed to be among the best ever produced, a fact attested to by the practice of testing the swords on human cadavers, usually those of condemned criminals. My question is, just ...

At Fusahiro Shimojima’s workshop, in the industrial city of Saitama, fires rage in small pits and an earthen floor absorbs the din of hammering. The Japanese swordsmith pounds the nascent blade of his ...