slewb wrote:Isn't quasicrystal kind of a misnomer? As far as I can tell it's just a normal crystal that we didn't know about before. Why aren't these quasicrystals allowed to reap the benefits of full-fledged crystal status?
Because they are not ordered, which crystals are
Quote:The difference between crystals and quasicrystals can be visualized by imagining a tiled floor: Tiles that are 6-sided hexagons can fit neatly against each other to cover the entire floor. But 5-sided pentagons or 10-sided decagons laid next to each will result in gaps between tiles. “The structure is saying ‘I am not a crystal, but on the other hand, I am not random either,'” Steinhardt said.