[HN Gopher] A predicted quasicrystal is based on the 'einstein' ...
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       A predicted quasicrystal is based on the 'einstein' tile known as
       the hat
        
       Author : thunderbong
       Score  : 41 points
       Date   : 2024-01-30 09:03 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.sciencenews.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.sciencenews.org)
        
       | WithinReason wrote:
       | Related video from Veritasium:
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48sCx-wBs34
        
       | dang wrote:
       | Related. Others?
       | 
       |  _Mathematicians discover shape that can tile a wall and never
       | repeat_ - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35273707 - March
       | 2023 (156 comments)
        
         | opello wrote:
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35264965
         | 
         | I think I remember some others but didn't dig for them. Sorry.
        
       | p1mrx wrote:
       | > Although the material is entirely theoretical for now [...] For
       | example, scientists could manually place molecules on a surface
       | in a pattern matching the hat tiling.
       | 
       | Does this even qualify as theoretical? It sounds more like "we
       | did geometry and called it physics."
        
         | neovialogistics wrote:
         | Crystallography is basically just 3d geometry (with some DE)
         | anyway.
        
           | p1mrx wrote:
           | The hat tiling is 2D. There are some 2D crystals like
           | graphene, but those are interesting because they actually
           | exist.
        
             | jacobolus wrote:
             | Many bits of physics start out as "did geometry". Will this
             | particular idea pan out? Probably not. Should it be the
             | subject of popular press at this stage? Probably not. But
             | it's worth having scientists explore the possibilities. The
             | paper might be interesting to specialists, once published, 
             | https://journals.aps.org/prl/accepted/33074Yb3Ufa1478fd33b0
             | 4...
        
               | pohl wrote:
               | Quasicrystals is an excellent example. Penrose tiles were
               | invented in 1974, but quasicrystals were discovered in
               | 1982.
        
             | peterlada wrote:
             | A decade ago I would have agreed with you. But then I
             | discovered the topic of five-symmetries and my absolute
             | favorite non-toxic non-stick pans are coated with that
             | alloy (not long ago deemed impossible) that has the five
             | way symmetry.
             | 
             | So the practical applications are not far behind for these
             | "only 2D" crystals.
        
               | p1mrx wrote:
               | Looks like you're referring to
               | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasicrystal#Applications,
               | marketed as Cybernox.
               | 
               | But 5 to 13 is a huge jump.
               | 
               | https://www.technologyreview.com/2011/10/12/190784/the-
               | quasi... says "They closed the production line because
               | they had a few problems in the reaction of the coating
               | with salt. If people cook with a lot of salt it will etch
               | the quasicrystalline coating. People didn't like it, so
               | they did not continue."
               | 
               | I see comments about Cybernox from 2001, so the patents
               | might've expired by now.
        
       | necubi wrote:
       | One of the coolest things about the hat tile is that it was
       | discovered by a hobbyist playing with puzzle software. There's a
       | great Quanta story about this:
       | https://www.quantamagazine.org/hobbyist-finds-maths-elusive-....
        
         | yboris wrote:
         | There's a great video explanation too with interviews of people
         | behind the scenes:
         | 
         | https://youtu.be/4HHUGnHcDQw?si=APHEQwVxTvcOfC5c&t=382
        
       | m3kw9 wrote:
       | Would be an expensive floor tiling project
        
         | floatrock wrote:
         | Anyone making hat ceramic tiles? Been thinking about
         | remodelling my bathroom...
        
           | opello wrote:
           | I think you'd want the spectre to avoid needing reflections.
        
           | zardo wrote:
           | > How easy is it to assemble correctly, or, how many ways are
           | there to assemble it incorrectly?
           | 
           | The critical question for both creating self assembling
           | quasi-crystals, and successfully tiling your bathroom on the
           | first try.
        
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