The residual dispersant particle was less hard than the gamma 1 matrix, but the ring around it was much harder than the gamma 1 matrix or the residual gamma particle. The improved mechanical properties seem to be the result of the presence of this ring. The gamma 2 phase was absent in this amalgam. The absence of gamma 2 phase seems to improve chemical resistance, to prevent the deformation by mercuroscopic expansion of amalgam margins, and thus to decrease their fracture potential.