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Scientists have discovered a rare form of solid - a quasicrystal - in a rock sample from Russia's Koryak mountains. Quasicrystals have unusual properties and have previously only been made in the laboratory. The discovery could redefine the field of mineralogy and expand our understanding of how quasicrystals form, leading to new applications.Quasicrystals are a type of solid with structures in between those of crystals and glasses. They are often compared to Penrose tilings, where two different shapes of tile are tessellated in patterns with local symmetry but more complex overall periodicity. The materials have interesting properties, often being harder or...

<p>JERUSALEM — JERUSALEM (AP) - When Israeli scientist Dan Shechtman claimed to have stumbled upon a new crystalline chemical structure that seemed to violate the laws of nature, colleagues mocked him, insulted him and exiled him from his research group.</p>

Enlarge Image Crystallized. Winner Daniel Shechtman and an atomic model of a quasicrystal (inset). Credit: The Ames Laboratory/DOE This year's Nobel Prize for chemistry goes to a scientist whose controversial discovery forced chemists to redefine the concept of a crystal. In 1982, Daniel Shechtman of the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa discovered an alloy of aluminum and manganese that appeared to have fivefold symmetry—that is, the atoms in it formed a pattern that appeared essentially the same when rotated by a fifth of a turn, or 72 degrees. Other researchers scoffed, as such arrangement was thought to be...

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2011 to Daniel Shechtman Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel "for the discovery of quasicrystals" A remarkable mosaic of atoms In quasicrystals, we find the fascinating mosaics of the Arabic world reproduced at the level of atoms: regular patterns that never repeat themselves. However, the configuration found in quasicrystals was considered impossible, and Daniel Shechtman had to fight a fierce battle against established science. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2011 has fundamentally altered how chemists conceive of solid matter.

Award given for Shechtman's controversial 1982 discovery of quasicrystals. An Iowa State University scientist has won the 2011 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Daniel Shechtman was named the winner of the prize Wednesday for his 1982 discovery of quasicrystals, a chemical structure researchers previously thought was impossible. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences says Shechtman’s discovery showed atoms in a crystal could be packed in a pattern that could not be repeated. It was previously thought atoms were packed in crystals in symmetrical patterns. The discovery changed the way chemists look at solid matter...