A niobium alloy that won't give up at 1500 °C
Picture a fireplace poker shoved into a blast furnace. Ordinary steel would soften and sag within minutes. Nickel-based superalloys, which make up turbine blades in jet engines, work up to 1300 °C, but beyond that they give in too. Now look at this new niobium-based alloy: at 1500 °C it retains strength comparable to cold aluminum.
The secret lies in its internal architecture.