Metglas is a thin amorphous metal

Amorphous metal

An amorphous metal is a metallic material with a disordered atomic-scale structure. In contrast to most metals, which are crystalline and therefore have a highly ordered arrangement of atoms, amorphous alloys are non-crystalline...

 alloy

Alloy

An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...

 ribbon produced by using rapid solidification

Flash freezing

Flash freezing refers to the process in various industries whereby objects are quickly frozen by subjecting them to cryogenic temperatures....

 process of approx: 1,000,000°C/s. This rapid solidification creates unique ferromagnetic properties that allows the ribbon to be magnetized and de-magnetized quickly and effectively with very low core losses of approximately 5mW/kg at 60Hz and maximum relative permeability

Permeability (electromagnetism)

In electromagnetism, permeability is the measure of the ability of a material to support the formation of a magnetic field within itself. In other words, it is the degree of magnetization that a material obtains in response to an applied magnetic field. Magnetic permeability is typically...

 approximately 1000000

History

Based on technology developed at AlliedSignal

AlliedSignal

AlliedSignal was an aerospace, automotive and engineering company that acquired and merged with Honeywell for $15 billion in 1999, after which the new group adopted the Honeywell name.AlliedSignal was created through a 1985 merger of Allied Corp...

 research facilities in Morristown, New Jersey

Morristown, New Jersey

Morristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 18,411. It is the county seat of Morris County. Morristown became characterized as "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the...

, the unit began developing amorphous metal

Amorphous metal

An amorphous metal is a metallic material with a disordered atomic-scale structure. In contrast to most metals, which are crystalline and therefore have a highly ordered arrangement of atoms, amorphous alloys are non-crystalline...

s in 1970. Over the years, many new alloys have been developed using the same principles of rapid solidification.

Metglas, also known as metallic glass alloys, differ from traditional metals in that they have a non-crystalline structure and possess unique physical and magnetic properties that combine high permeability

Permeability (electromagnetism)

In electromagnetism, permeability is the measure of the ability of a material to support the formation of a magnetic field within itself. In other words, it is the degree of magnetization that a material obtains in response to an applied magnetic field. Magnetic permeability is typically...

, strength

Strength of materials

In materials science, the strength of a material is its ability to withstand an applied stress without failure. The applied stress may be tensile, compressive, or shear. Strength of materials is a subject which deals with loads, deformations and the forces acting on a material. A load applied to a...

 and hardness with flexibility

Flexibility (engineering)

Flexibility is used as an attribute of various types of systems. In the field of engineering systems design, it refers to designs that can adapt when external changes occur. Flexibility has been defined differently in many fields of engineering, architecture, biology, economics, etc...

 and toughness

Toughness

In materials science and metallurgy, toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically deform without fracturing; Material toughness is defined as the amount of energy per volume that a material can absorb before rupturing...

.