Access
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
News and Views
Nature 413, 694-695 (18 October 2001) | doi:10.1038/35099662
Open Innovation Challenges
-
Direct Molecular Detection of Proteins and Nucleic Acids
This Challenge is looking for novel approaches to protein and nucleic acid detection. This is an Id...
-
Single-cell Analysis Platform
This Challenge is looking for novel approaches to analyzing changes at a single-cell level. This is...
- More Challenges
- Powered by:
nature jobs
Tenure Track Assistant Professors
- Washington University School of Medicine
- St. Louis, MO 63110 United States
Assistant Professor in the Study of Physical Hazards
- University of Cincinnati
- Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Crystallization: Diversity suppresses growth
David W. Oxtoby
Abstract
Colloids, which consist of small particles in suspension, can switch from a fluid to a crystalline state. But a careful simulation of this phase transition shows that some types of colloids cannot crystallize.
The shimmering iridescence of an opal gemstone arises from the diffraction of visible light by tiny particles. Such opalescence can occur because colloidal particles, which are hundreds to thousands of times larger than single atoms, can spontaneously arrange themselves into regular crystalline arrays — just like atomic or molecular crystals.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
