Quasicrystals

Feb. 8, 2023

Recently, scientists have discovered a third natural source of quasicrystals.

About Quasicrystal:

  • Quasicrystal, also called quasi-periodic crystal, matter formed atomically in a manner somewhere between the amorphous solids of glasses and the precise pattern of crystals.
  • In quasicrystals, the atoms are arranged in a pattern that repeats itself at irregular, yet predictable, intervals.
  • The American-Israeli scientist Dan Shechtman discovered quasicrystals in the lab in 1982.
  • The first natural quasicrystal found was as microscopic grains in a fragment of the Khatyrka meteorite lying in the Koryak mountains of Russia.
  • The second time scientists found natural quasicrystals in the remains of the Trinity test of the Manhattan Project.
  • Recently in the Sand Hills dunes in northern Nebraska, where scientists found silicate glass which is a dodecagonal quasicrystal, rare even for quasicrystals.

Applications of Quasicrystals

  • They are used in surgical instruments, LED lights and nonstick frying pans.
  • They have poor heat conductivity, which makes them good insulators.