摘要 |
<p>Cutting and piercing devices such as scalpels and needles for use in surgery and microsurgery are difficult to produce so as to be both sharp and durable. Surprising and unexpected results were obtained by making the cutting and piercing regions of the devices of amorphous metals. In one method a scalpel 12 of stainless steel was clamped in a heat sink 8 and immersed in a bath 2 liquid nitrogen (6). A laser beam (8) was caused to scan the cutting edge of the scalpel and to raise the local temperature to melting point and so transform the cutting edge to an amorphous state. As soon as the beam (8) had passed, extremely rapid cooling was effected to ensure that the amorphous condition of the cutting edge was substained.</p> |