World's first nuclear detonation forged the first human-made quasicrystal

[beowulf]

Quasicrystals were long thought to be impossible because they violated the "rules" of what arrangements atoms can have in a solid. Scientists believed that crystals could only have two, three, four or sixfold symmetry, but nothing else.


But they have since found many more types of symmetry are possible

These images show different types of symmetries that can be found in quasicrystals: 5-fold (top left), 7-fold (top right), 11-fold (bottom left) and 17-fold (bottom right).

red trinitite sample that came from remnants of the world's first nuclear test in 1945, which contained the quasicrystal.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/may...d-the-first-human-made-quasicrystal-1.6035016

Click to read more...

 

[JMCx4]

The Trinity Site is a fascinating place. For those interested in the history & the science, the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range (which surrounds the old nuclear test site) hosts a public open house on the first Saturday of April & October as the pandemic & other conditions allow. I've never joined the caravan group to the Ground Zero site; but while working in the area many years ago I did get a private tour of the nearby McDonald Ranch building where some of the Manhattan Project scientists lived & assembled the plutonium core. Some of my colleagues split off & got escorted access to walk around the detonation area that day. All very unique & worth scheduling a visit if you ever have the opportunity.

 

[beowulf]

That's an interesting sounding tour.