Smectic pores and defect cores

The protrusion of the cell surface is an initial step for several cellular processes, including cell migration, phagocytosis, and neurite outgrowth. These membrane protrusions are a result of cytoskeletal rearrangement. The most  widely observed cell protrusions include lamellipodia, pseudopodia, filopodia, microvilli, invadopodia, and podosomes. These protrusions can be of two types — static or dynamic.
The microvilli, an example of stable protrusions, are finger-like projections...

Schottky defects arise when some lattice points in a crystal, such as those in NaCl, remain unoccupied, creating lattice vacancies without disturbing the overall electrical neutrality of the crystal. This defect is common in ionic crystals where the positive and negative ions are similar in size, as seen in sodium chloride and cesium chloride. The presence of Schottky defects enables the crystal to conduct electricity to a small extent through an ionic mechanism. Electric fields cause nearby...

A perfect crystal, in theory, has a uniform structure with the same unit cell and lattice points throughout. However, any deviation from this periodic arrangement is known as an imperfection or defect. These defects can be categorized into three types: point, line, and plane defects.Point defects occur when there is a deviation from the ideal due to missing atoms, displaced atoms, or additional atoms. These imperfections might occur due to imperfect packing during crystallization or because of...

Aggregates contain pores of varying sizes; while some are completely enclosed within the particles, others open onto the surface, allowing water to penetrate. The porosity of aggregates is a major factor contributing to the overall porosity of concrete, given that aggregates constitute about three-quarters of concrete's volume.
When all pores in an aggregate are filled with water, the aggregate is considered saturated and surface-dry. If left in dry air, water will evaporate until the...

Non-stoichiometric defects refer to a type of defect in the crystal structure of a compound where the ratio of its constituent elements deviates from the ideal stoichiometric ratio. There are two main types of non-stoichiometric defects: metal excess defects and metal deficiency defects.Metal excess defects occur when there is a slight surplus of metal ions than what is required by the stoichiometric ratio of the compound. For example, heating a sodium chloride crystal in sodium vapor results...

The porosity of concrete is a measure of the void spaces within its structure. These spaces impact its strength and durability significantly. When water and cement interact, a chemical reaction called hydration creates a semi-solid paste. This paste includes combined water, making up approximately 23% of the cement's dry mass, and gel water, which fills minuscule voids known as gel pores, accounting for about 28% of the cement gel volume.
The balance of water to cement in the mix is...