Quasicrystals
Cuasicristales
- Date
- 1982-1984 · confidence high
- Place
- NIST (National Bureau of Standards), Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States
- Credited to
- Dan Shechtman
- People
- 👤 Dan Shechtman1941–
- Field
- Matter & energy
What was discovered
An Al-Mn alloy shows a diffraction pattern with icosahedral symmetry, forbidden in periodic crystals. It shows that matter can be ordered without periodicity and forces a redefinition of the concept of a crystal.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2011; Linus Pauling fiercely opposed the finding.
What it led to
- Aperiodic crystallography
- Low-friction, low-adhesion materials
- Penrose tiling mathematics applied
Built on
- Electron diffraction1927
- Penrose tilings (1974)
Made possible
- quasicrystalline coatings