Alexander Shtukenberg
A chance discovery in an old German book may have completely overturned our understanding of how crystals grow.
The defining feature of a crystal is that it is composed of a pattern of atoms that repeats in all directions with perfect symmetry. This neat structure makes it possible to diffract X-rays through crystals to reveal the pattern inside – a technique instrumental in understanding the atomic structure of many important drugs, like penicillin.
But X-ray diffraction is very difficult to apply to small crystals — and as a result we’ve long been unsure of what …
source: newscientist.com