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4512 Results for "crystal"
Giant crystals in Mexican cave face dehydration
—Giant crystals in Mexican cave face dehydration “Water loss from the gypsum crystal surfaces is a primary degradation pathway” In the Cave of Crystals in Chihuahua, Mexico, gypsum crystals in a form called selenite (CaSO4∙2H2O) have grown as big as trees. But researchers now report that loss of water may damage the crystal surfaces (Cryst.
by Emma Hiolski, special to C&EN | June 30, 2018
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Naica’s crystal cave captivates chemists
In ionic solutions, high levels of supersaturation promote the nucleation of many crystals, while low levels favor less nucleation but more crystal growth. The Cave of Crystals, therefore, was just right for the few crystals that nucleated to grow to gigantic proportions. Still marveling at the Naica crystals, Van Driessche and coworkers began to conduct lab studies of gypsum nucleation.
by Emma Hiolski, special to C&EN | February 08, 2019
Crystal Growth In Retrospect
—Crystal Growth In Retrospect “New technique back tracks crystal’s life when in situ methods aren’t workable” Just as tree rings reveal the secrets of a tree’s growth, a new technique that involves peering at a crystal’s cross section permits researchers to follow the growth of a crystal retrospectively (Angew.
by Sarah Everts | June 28, 2010
Cryo-electron microscopy reveals how protein crystals grow
—Cryo-electron microscopy reveals how protein crystals grow “Insights allow researchers to control crystallization and could be used to aid drug formulation” Crystallizing a protein can be a shot in the dark. No one quite knows how protein crystals form, so researchers frequently must use trial and error to find the right crystallization conditions.
by Carmen Drahl | April 04, 2018
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2-D crystals grow with no energy barrier
—2-D crystals grow with no energy barrier “Counterintuitive finding in row-by-row growth mechanism suggests ways of coaxing hard-to-crystallize molecules to form ordered films” Scientists have been growing and studying crystals for so long, you would think the ordered structures had given up all their secrets long ago.
by Mitch Jacoby | December 16, 2018
Dye Crystals Polymerize With Light
—Dye Crystals Polymerize With Light “Polymer could be used in composites as a strengthener that changes color when weakened” Turning crystalline materials into polymers is tricky business. Polymerizing agents can’t slip into the crystal’s tightly packed matrix of molecules, so scientists have to use heat, pressure, or light and hope the crystal’s molecules are in the right orientation for polymerization to proceed.
by Bethany Halford | January 20, 2014
A Double Dose Of Crystal-To-Crystal Transformations
—A Double Dose Of Crystal-To-Crystal Transformations “” Examples of chemical reactions that occur in the solid state without disrupting the crystallinity of the original compound are rare, but Cathleen M. Crudden and coworkers of Queen’s University, in Kingston, Ontario, have discovered an unprecedented back-to-back example of such transformations (Angew.
by Stephen K. Ritter | August 01, 2011