Researchers ‘watch’ crystal structure change in real time

Washington State University researchers have met the long-standing scientific challenge of watching a material change its crystal structure in real time.

While exposing a sample of silicon to intense pressure – due to the impact of a nearly 12,000 mph plastic projectile – researchers documented the transformation from its common cubic diamond structure to a simple hexagonal structure. At one point, they could see both structures as the shock wave traveled through the sample in less than half a millionth of a second.

Until now, researchers have had to rely on computer simulations to follow the atomic-level changes of a structural transformation under pressure. The new method provides a way to actually measure the physical changes and to see if the simulations are valid.

Read more at Washington State University

Image Credit: Pexels

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