The “magic” word complexity evokes a multitude of meanings that obscure its real sense. Here we try and generate a bottom-up reconstruction of the deep sense of complexity by looking at the convergence of different features shared by complex systems. We specifically focus on complexity in biology but stressing the similarities with analogous features encountered in inanimate and artefactual systems in order to track an integrative path toward a new “mainstream” of science overcoming the actual fragmentation of scientific culture.

A statistically based approach is developed for the construction of constitutive equations that provides linkages between defect-induced mechanisms of structural relaxation, thermally activated plastic flow, and material response to extreme loading conditions. The collective properties of defects have been studied to establish the interaction of multiscale defect dynamics and plastic flow, and to explain the mechanisms leading to the universal self-similar structure of shock wave fronts. Pn explanation for structural universality of the steady-state plastic shock front (the four power law) and the self-similarity of shock wave profiles under reloading (unloading) is proposed. Structural characterization under transition from thermally activated dislocation glide to nonlinear dislocation drag effects is developed in terms of scaling invariants (effective temperatures) related to mesodefect induced morphology formed during the different stages of plastic deformation.

High-density electric current pulses increase the plasticity and reduce the yield stress of metals with negligible heat generation. This effect has great potential for the development of energy-saving technologies for processing hard-to-deform metallic materials. Despite the long history of the study of electroplasticity, there is still no consensus on the physical nature of this effect. In this paper, the effect of repetitive pulses applied at the same or gradually increasing tensile stress on the plastic deformation of copper wire is investigated using a home-made experimental setup. The electroplasticity of the wire in the delivery state and after annealing is compared. It is shown that for a constant tensile stress, the incremental plastic deformation of the wire decreases with each successive pulse. This effect is stronger for annealed wires because they have a lower dislocation density and therefore a lower plasticity resource. The Joule heat release in the specimen and the heating due to plastic deformation are evaluated. The results obtained will be used to fit the parameters of the atomistic model being developed to describe the interaction of electron flow with dislocations.