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Updated: Apr 11, 2026

On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature
Published on: March 11, 2022
Aperiodic crystals and beyond
1Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, England.
Abstract:
Crystals are paradigms of ordered structures. While order was once seen as synonymous with lattice periodic arrangements, the discoveries of incommensurate crystals and quasicrystals led to a more general perception of crystalline order, encompassing both periodic and aperiodic crystals. The current definition of crystals rests on their essentially point-like diffraction. Considering a number of recently investigated toy systems, with particular emphasis on non-crystalline ordered structures, the limits of the current definition are explored.
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