[Rockhounds] Scientists develop 'X-ray vision' technique to see inside crystals

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

A team of New York University researchers has created a new way to
visualize crystals by peering inside their structures, akin to having X-ray
vision. Their new technique—which they aptly named "Crystal Clear"—combines
the use of transparent particles and microscopes with lasers that allow
scientists to see each unit that makes up the crystal and to create dynamic
three-dimensional models.

"This is a powerful platform for studying crystals
<https://phys.org/tags/crystals/>," says Stefano Sacanna, professor of
chemistry at NYU and the principal investigator for the study, published in
the journal <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-024-01917-w> *Nature
Materials*.

"Previously, if you looked at a colloidal crystal through a microscope, you
could only get a sense of its shape and structure of the surface. But we
can now see inside and know the position of every unit in the structure."

Atomic crystals are solid materials whose building blocks are positioned in
a repeating, orderly fashion. Every now and then, an atom is missing or out
of place, resulting in a defect. The arrangement of atoms and defects is
what creates different crystalline materials—from table salt to
diamonds—and gives them their properties.

https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-ray-vision-technique-crystals.html