Key Features:

• Formation Process: Martensite forms during rapid quenching of steel so that the carbon atoms cannot diffuse. It produces a needle-like structure in deformation.
• High Hardness and Brittleness: Since martensite has a body-centered tetragonal (BCT) crystal, it is very hard but gets cracked if not tempered.
• Common Applications: Present in the making of knives, cutting tools, gears, and other wear-resistant parts that need extreme hardness as part of their requirement for durability and performance. 

The most distinctive merit provided by martensite is strength and resistance to wear in steel as it is an important feature in strengthening structural parts for automotive and aerospace industries. Martensitic steels find their application in high-strength structural parts of automotive and aerospace industries. Moreover, controlled processes such as tempering and austempering modify the martensitic properties for achieving an optimum effect of hardness-toughness ratio. Thus, cutting-edge research on advanced steel alloys and heat treatment techniques goes on enhancing the performance of martensitic materials in modern engineering.