Scientifically speaking, the term "crystal" refers to any solid that has an ordered chemical structure. This means that its parts are arranged in a precisely ordered pattern, like bricks in a wall.

In exploring how crystals form, the researchers also came across an unusual, rod-shaped crystal that hadn't been identified before, naming it "Zangenite" for the NYU graduate student who discovered it ...

Soft and organic crystals are a diverse group of materials with connections to biological, environmental, and industrial processes with a wide range of applications, from pharmaceuticals to flexible ...

NYU scientists are using light to precisely control how tiny particles organize themselves into crystals. Their research, published in Chem, provides a simple and reversible method for forming ...

A process called nucleation often initiates phase transitions such as condensation or freezing. A UCLA-led study uses advanced 3D atomic imaging to revise a widely accepted, century-old theory ...

In nature, tiny crystals known as nanocrystals are formed slowly over many years. Rocks and minerals react with air, water, and carbon dioxide in a process called chemical weathering. These reactions ...

Crystals—from sugar and table salt to snowflakes and diamonds—don’t always grow in a straightforward way. New York University researchers have captured this journey from amorphous blob to orderly ...

The most common scientific approach for thinking about how condensation, freezing and other phase transitions begin is based in classical nucleation theory, which was developed about a century ago.

In exploring how crystals form, the researchers also came across an unusual, rod-shaped crystal that hadn’t been identified before, naming it “Zangenite” for the NYU graduate student who discovered it ...