the phase diagram thermodynamic equilibrium the powder particles produced according to the invention can be processed further without special precautionary measures under ambient conditions the material compacted from these powder particles according to the usual methods below the recrystallization temperature of the powder exhibits a nanocrystalline structure the process of the invention is suitable for powders of metallic materials of materials having metallic properties such as intermetallics for example carbides and nitrides and of ceramic materials including a plurality of components of particular advantage are binary or multi component substances composed of at least one element of the group including y ti zr hf mo nb ta w and at least one of the elements of the group including v cr mn fe co ni cu pd without or with the addition of accompanying elements such as si ge b and or oxides nitrides borides carbides and their mixed crystals either in pure form or as corresponding pre alloys of these groups the extreme degrees of deformation of the particles necessary to practice the invention can be achieved advantageously by high energy grinding e g impact grinding particularly in an attrition mill surprisingly the specific surface of the powder particles produced according to the invention does not increase with the duration of grinding but remains the same or decreases slightly we theorize this indicates that the surface is gas tight and no internal surfaces in the region of the nanocrystalline structure are accessible to the gases of the surrounding atmosphere the surfaces in the nanocrystalline range remain clean and their chemical resistance is surprisingly high presumably because the small crystallites are embedded in an amorphous phase the purity of the material therefore remains high even after exposure to ambient conditions however this invention is not limited by this theory or.