Fig. 3: The “smaller-is-weaker” relationship further confirmed by particles divided with twins.

a The yield process of a FeCoNiCuPdIrPtAu nanoparticle with diameter of 140 nm with twin structures inside, which divide it to smaller units with a width below 50 nm (shown in Supplementary Movie 5). b The engineering stress vs. reduction-in-height curve corresponding to the deformation process in (a). c Analysis of strengths for different particles at specific values of their reduction-in-height. Each presented value is averaged over results for more than three particles. The deviation is within 15% in particles larger than 180 nm in diameter but increases to about 33% in particles smaller than 180 nm in diameter, as described by the error bar.