Which outcome occurs when the cooling rate of early Chinese cast cannon barrels was unintentionally too high during production?

💡 Explanation

Faster cooling induces microscopic stresses due to differential contraction, because the Heat Treatment process was uneven resulting in increased brittleness via the mechanism of Quench Hardening. Therefore, fracture toughness decreases, rather than ductility because uneven temperature gradients weaken the metal.

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