Crystal with “Forbidden Symmetry” Found in 4.5-Billion-Year-Old Meteorite

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High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image showing that the real space structure consists of a homogeneous, quasiperiodic and ten-fold symmetric pattern / L. Bindi et al., 2015 Scientific Reports

A crystal with an “unorthodox” arrangement of atoms has been discovered inside an ancient meteorite that crashed into a remote area of northeastern Russia thousands of years ago. This is only the second time a natural so-called quasicrystal has been found. The work is published in Scientific Reports this week.