Tech

Self-healing quasicrystals may resurrect hopes of practical applications

Enlarge / X-ray tomography visualization showing two quasicrystals as they start to meld together during cooling. University of Michigan scientists have discovered that quasicrystals exhibit a self-healing phenomenon that could reduce defects. (credit: Shahani Group/University of Michigan) Quasicrystals are a unique class of materials with considerable promise for practical applications because associated with their unusual […]

Tech

Rare quasicrystal found in trinitite formed during 1945 Trinity Test

Enlarge / The red trinitite sample which contained the quasicrystal. It was formed in the aftermath of the first nuclear detonation in 1945: the famous Trinity Test at the Alamorgordo Bombing Range in New Mexico. (credit: Luca Bindi and Paul J. Steinhardt) The detonation of the first atomic bomb during the 1945 Trinity Test produced […]