Dendrites are frequently precipitated from splat-cooled,
carbon-doped molten metal.
These dendrites are associated with thin graphite deposits.
Thicker deposits form origami-like
structures.
Compare
these "cactus spines" precipitated from iron with
the cobalt-precipitated dendrites shown above. One explanation for these
growths is the strong electrostatic fields (on the order of 1010
V/m) that probably concentrate at the dendrite tips as they
form. Such high fields produce high stresses that may easily deform
sufficiently thin graphite on a molten metal surface[6].
