Quasicrystals A Primer

by Janot, C.

• ISBN13: 9780198513896
• ISBN10: 0198513895
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1992-11-05
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

In 1984 physicists discovered a totally unexpected form of matter in the world of crystallography, a structure that appeared to contain five-fold symmetry axes, which cannot exist in strictly periodic structures. Such quasi-periodic structures became known as quasicrystals. In an effort to understand these structures, a theory that employed higher dimensional space groups was applied to them and new alloy phases were able to be created which exhibited the properties expected from this model. Thus many of the early controversies were dissolved. This primer is intended to provide a descriptive approach to the subject for those coming to it for the first time. The various practical, experimental, and theoretical topics are dealt with in an accessible style. The book includes problem sets and a computer program that generates a Penrose lattice. It serves as a valuable introduction to this important field for students and researchers in materials science, crystallography, and condensed matter physics.

Table of Contents

How to Fill Space with Atoms in Condensed Matter States

Introduction

Periodic Structures

Liquids, Glasses, and Amorphous Alloys

Quasiperiodicity: Another Type of Long-Range Order

Real Quasicrystals: Preparation and Characterization

Introduction

Preparation Methods

Characterization of Quasicrystalline Samples

The Various Families of Quasicrystals

Quasicrystals Versus Twinned Crystals

A Phase Diagram for the A1PdMn System

Conclusion

Problems

High-Dimensional Crystallography

Introduction

The Basic Principles of Quasicrystallography

Six-Dimensional Crystallography for 3-DIM Icosahedral Quasicrystals

Problems

Where Are the Atoms?

Introduction

Experimental Determination of Quasicrystal Structures

Three-Dimensional Atomic Models

Conclusion

Problems

Phonons, Phasons, and Dislocations in Quasicrystals

Introduction

Basic Knowledge about Lattice Dynamics and Defects in Periodic Structures

Modulation and Quasiperiodicity Effects on Lattice Dynamics

Concepts of Elasticity and Defects in Quasiperiodic Structures

Conclusion

Problems

A Little More about the Physics of Quasicrystals

Introduction

Is Perfect Quasicrystal Growth an Acceptable Physical Concept?

Can Icosahedral Order Be Grown out of Disorder?

Where Are the Electrons and How Do They Move?

Conclusion

Problems

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.