surface energy

2 posts

Why do quasicrystals exist?

8 min read
Scicomm crystallography Dan Shechtman density functional theory DFT-FE enthalpy entropy finite element analysis fivefold symmetry graphics processing unit Linus Carl Pauling nucleation phase diagram quasicrystals scandium-zinc surface energy translational symmetry unit cell ytterbium-cadmium

Featured image: An example of zellij tilework in the Al Attarine Madrasa in Fes, Morocco (2012), with complex geometric patterns on the lower walls and a band of calligraphy above. Caption and credit:…

Boron nitride, tougher than it looks

5 min read
Scicomm boron nitride crack deflection elastic energy fracture mechanics free energy graphene hexagonal boron nitride monolayer graphene monolayer h-BN sphalerite surface energy tensile strength wearable electronics wurtzite Griffith's law

During World War I, a British aeronautical engineer named A.A. Griffith noticed something odd about glass. He found that the atomic bonds in glass needed 10,000 megapascals of stress to break apart –…