Vibrating Particles Yield Bizarre New Material and Largest Quasicrystal

Physicists from the University of Paris-Saclay have observed the emergence of a quasicrystal, a combination of order and chaos, in a granular material for the first time on a millimeter-scale. The researchers used computer simulations to identify the necessary conditions for the formation of a quasicrystal and then conducted an experiment with vibrating steel spheres. The study found that small, localized configurations of differently sized spheres formed rapidly, but global alignment required rare collective rearrangements. The unexpected discovery suggests that quasicrystals can form in both atomic-scale and granular systems, opening up possibilities for applications in insulation and electronics.