Crystal phenomena as a research area investigates the physical behaviors and properties that arise from the ordered atomic or molecular arrangements in crystalline solids, including symmetry-governed effects and defect-related responses. It encompasses studies of phase transitions, lattice dynamics, crystallographic defects (dislocations, vacancies, interfaces), anisotropic mechanical, thermal, and electronic behavior, as well as optical and dielectric responses governed by crystal symmetry and band structure. The field integrates experimental techniques such as X-ray and neutron diffraction, electron microscopy, and spectroscopies with theoretical and computational methods to elucidate structure–property relationships, enabling the design and control of functional materials in electronics, photonics, mechanics, and quantum technologies.
An international team of scientists, including researchers from Loughborough University, has developed a method to dramatically speed up the discovery and design of advanced materials. The study, published in Physical Review ...
General Physics
Apr 13, 2026
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8
A team of researchers has identified atomic distortions that may be linked with high-temperature superconductivity in a promising class of nickel-based materials, offering new insight into how next-generation superconductors ...
Condensed Matter
Apr 2, 2026
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66
A team of researchers from Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with colleagues from Japan, has taken an important step toward the next generation of electronics. The scientists achieved highly precise control of the internal ...
Nanophysics
Mar 24, 2026
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137
Most materials, especially metals and ceramics, are crystals. Their atoms are arranged in three-dimensional lattices that repeat the same exact pattern, over and over again. But there's a well-known saying in materials science: ...
Nanophysics
Mar 12, 2026
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48
Physicists in China have uncovered new evidence that chiral phonons and magnons can interact strongly inside magnetic crystals. Using neutron spectroscopy, a team led by Song Bao at Nanjing University mapped magnetic signatures ...
Crystals have repeatedly been found at archaeological sites alongside Homo remains. Evidence shows that hominins have been collecting these stones for as long as 780,000 years. Yet, we know that our ancestors did not use ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 4, 2026
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Crystalline nanomaterials are valuable because their highly ordered structures give them useful properties for technologies such as data storage and optical devices. But forming nanoparticles from those orderly crystals is ...
Nanophysics
Mar 3, 2026
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Conventional crystals are materials in which atoms arrange themselves in repeating spatial patterns. Time crystals, on the other hand, are phases of matter characterized by repeating motions over time without constantly heating ...
Some solid materials can cool down or heat up when pressure is applied or released. This behavior enables cooling and heating technologies that do not rely on climate-damaging refrigerant gases. In practice, however, a major ...
Condensed Matter
Feb 27, 2026
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137
At Rice University, a research lab's signature keepsake has helped perfect a method for growing patterned diamond surfaces that could help decrease operating temperatures in electronics by 23 degrees Celsius. The paper is ...
Condensed Matter
Feb 23, 2026
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