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.
The ice in a domestic freezer is remarkably different from the single crystals that form in snow clouds, or even those formed on a frozen pond. As temperatures drop, ice crystals can grow in a variety of shapes: from stocky ...
General Physics
Jan 20, 2026
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Building large-scale quantum technologies requires reliable ways to connect individual quantum bits (qubits) without destroying their fragile quantum states. In a new theoretical study, published in npj Computational Materials, ...
Condensed Matter
Jan 15, 2026
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145
Whether they're tickling your nose, hugging your eyelashes or melting on your tongue, few winter wonders are as fascinating as snowflakes.
Nanophysics
Jan 7, 2026
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147
A researcher at the Department of Physics at Tohoku University has uncovered a surprising quantum phenomenon hidden inside ordinary crystals: the strength of interactions between electrons and lattice vibrations—known as ...
Condensed Matter
Dec 9, 2025
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197
The rapidly growing field of research on chiral phonons is giving researchers new insights into the fundamental behaviors and structures of materials. The chirality of phonons could pave the way for new methods to control ...
Condensed Matter
Nov 11, 2025
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38
In a new study published in Nature Physics, researchers achieved the first experimental observation of a time rondeau crystal—a novel phase of matter where long-range temporal order coexists with short-time disorder.
A quick, purification-free method was developed by researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo, to capture the detailed 3D structures of flexible sugar molecules. By growing crystals of galectin-10 protein using a cell-free ...
Biotechnology
Oct 30, 2025
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26
Physicists at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) in Hamburg have discovered a striking new form of quantum behavior. In star-shaped Kagome crystals—named after a traditional Japanese ...
Condensed Matter
Oct 30, 2025
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177
Every cell of the deadly Plasmodium falciparum parasite, the organism that causes malaria, contains a tiny compartment full of microscopic iron crystals. As long as the parasite is alive, the crystals dance. They spin, jolt, ...
Bio & Medicine
Oct 29, 2025
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131
Unless you've owned reptiles, you might not know that many of them "pee" crystals. Researchers publishing in the Journal of the American Chemical Society investigated the solid urine of more than 20 reptile species and found ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 22, 2025
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