What Happens When Matter Refuses to Follow the Rules? Quasicrystals.

For decades, quasicrystals — strange solids that blur the line between crystal and glass — have puzzled scientists. Unlike ordinary crystals, their atomic patterns never repeat, yet they remain highly ordered. Now, researchers using the first-ever quantum-mechanical simulations of these materials have uncovered why they exist: they are fundamentally stable, not fleeting accidents of rapid […]

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