The team found that higher (increased) charge activity is responsible for improved ductility in body-centered cubic metals. The yellow region, which represents the higher electronic charge in the interstitials (area in between the atoms), corresponds to the increased charge activity that leads to higher ductility. The light blue regions are interstitials with weaker charge activity. In this image, each atom is represented by a different color, tantalum (Ta), molybdenum (Mo), and tungsten (W) as specified above. The blue, pink, and red contours show charge distribution around each site.