The low energy vibrational excitations of perfect crystals seen in specific heat and thermal conductivity measurements can be described in terms of Debye phonons. In amorphous solids, however, the specific heat
Opals are not actually crystals,but amorphous solids. This means their atoms are not arranged in a regular, repeating pattern, unlike true crystals like diamonds or sapphires. Gemstone Treatments and Enhancements Many gemstones undergo treatments and enhancementsto improve their color, clarity, or dura...
The components of a solid can only be arranged in two (2) different ways: (1) in a way where they form regular repeating three dimensional structures called a crystal lattice which produces crystals and (2) in no particular order or arrangement which produces an amorphous solid. ...
are ideal for studying biological materials in an aqueousenvironment. Another sophisticated absorption technique, called EXAFS (“extended X-ray absorption fine structure”), is capable of identifying the short-range ordering of atoms and molecules in unstable samples of crystals andamorphous solids. ...
quasicrystal, matter formed atomically in a manner somewhere between the amorphous solids of glasses (special forms of metals and other minerals, as well as common glass) and the precise pattern of crystals. Like crystals, quasicrystals contain an ordered structure, but the patterns are subtle and...
of the container so it shows one kind of surface on the top and quite a different kind where it was resting on other semi-molten blobs underneath. Contrast the relatively dull broken crystal surfaces of this 99.5% pure lump with the much shinier, crisper crystals of the 99.99+% lump above...
Oxygen bars were a fad for a while, I think it's kind of over now, but you can still buy cans of concentrated oxygen (they say they are about 80%, compared to the 21% natural concentration in air) meant to be inhaled for non-medical reasons. In a proper oxygen bar you sit arou...
quasicrystal, matter formed atomically in a manner somewhere between theamorphoussolids of glasses (special forms of metals and other minerals, as well as common glass) and the precise pattern ofcrystals. Like crystals, quasicrystals contain an ordered structure, but the patterns are subtle and do ...
Solid, one of the three basic states of matter, the others being liquid and gas. A solid forms from liquid or gas because the energy of atoms decreases when the atoms take up a relatively ordered, three-dimensional structure. All solids are able to resis
Amorphous elemental silicon was first isolated and described as an element in 1824 by Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist. Impure silicon had already been obtained in 1811. Crystalline elemental silicon was not prepared until 1854, when it was obtained as a product of electrolysis. In the...