New frontiers are now open for laboratory reproduction of quasicrystals, a particular form of solid, which, for its properties, including an exceptional resistance, is generating a strong interest in the field of technological applications (from non-stick film for saucepans to ball bearings and shaving blades).
An international team of researchers that includes Luca Bindi, a professor of Mineralogy at the Department of Earth Sciences, has succeeded in recreating icosahedrite and decagonite, two quasicrystals found in a meteorite dating to 4 billion and a half years ago ("Khatyrka"). The result was obtained by impacting a bullet exploded at about 1 Km/s on various materials precisely chosen to reproduce the conditions that occurred during the formation of "Khatyrka".
ITA | ENG
