Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Crystallization is the process by which solids form, where the atoms or molecules are highly organized into a structure known as a crystal. Some ways by which crystals form are precipitating from a solution , freezing , or more rarely deposition directly from a gas .
He provided a clear definition of surface energy, by which the concept of surface tension is made applicable to solids as well as liquids. He also appreciated that an anisotropic surface free energy implied a non-spherical equilibrium shape , which should be thermodynamically defined as the shape which minimizes the total surface free energy .
Crystallization of polymers is a process associated with partial alignment of their molecular chains. These chains fold together and form ordered regions called lamellae , which compose larger spheroidal structures named spherulites .
Neutron crystallography is often used to help refine structures obtained by X-ray methods or to solve a specific bond; the methods are often viewed as complementary, as X-rays are sensitive to electron positions and scatter most strongly off heavy atoms, while neutrons are sensitive to nucleus positions and scatter strongly even off many light ...
Liquid crystal (LC) is a state of matter whose properties are between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals.For example, a liquid crystal can flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a common direction as in a solid.
Crystal optics is the branch of optics that describes the behaviour of light in anisotropic media, that is, media (such as crystals) in which light behaves differently depending on which direction the light is propagating.
The scientific definition of a "crystal" is based on the microscopic arrangement of atoms inside it, called the crystal structure. A crystal is a solid where the atoms form a periodic arrangement. (Quasicrystals are an exception, see below). Not all solids are crystals.
Abnormal grain growth, where a small number of crystallites are significantly larger than the mean crystallite size, is commonly observed in diverse polycrystalline materials, and results in mechanical and optical properties that diverge from similar materials having a monodisperse crystallite size distribution with a similar mean crystallite size.