Solid-state physics: Consider the 'anticrystal'
Monday, July 7, 2014 - 20:31
in Physics & Chemistry
For the last century, the concept of crystals has been a mainstay of solid-state physics. Crystals are paragons of order; crystalline materials are defined by the repeating patterns their constituent atoms and molecules make. Physicists now have evidence that a new concept should undergird our understanding of most materials: the anticrystal, a theoretical solid that is completely disordered.