Electrical discharge triggers quasicrystal formation in an eolian dune

Author:

Bindi Luca1ORCID,Pasek Matthew A.2ORCID,Ma Chi3,Hu Jinping3,Cheng Guangming4ORCID,Yao Nan4ORCID,Asimow Paul D.3ORCID,Steinhardt Paul J.5ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, Florence I-50121, Italy

2. School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620

3. Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125

4. Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544

5. Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544

Abstract

We report the discovery of a dodecagonal quasicrystal Mn 72.3 Si 15.6 Cr 9.7 Al 1.8 Ni 0.6 —composed of a periodic stacking of atomic planes with quasiperiodic translational order and 12-fold symmetry along the two directions perpendicular to the planes—accidentally formed by an electrical discharge event in an eolian dune in the Sand Hills near Hyannis, Nebraska, United States. The quasicrystal, coexisting with a cubic crystalline phase with composition Mn 68.9 Si 19.9 Ni 7.6 Cr 2.2 Al 1.4 , was found in a fulgurite consisting predominantly of fused and melted sand along with traces of melted conductor metal from a nearby downed power line. The fulgurite may have been created by a lightning strike that combined sand with material from downed power line or from electrical discharges from the downed power line alone. Extreme temperatures of at least 1,710 °C were reached, as indicated by the presence of SiO 2 glass in the sample. The dodecagonal quasicrystal is an example of a quasicrystal of any kind formed by electrical discharge, suggesting other places to search for quasicrystals on Earth or in space and for synthesizing them in the laboratory.

Funder

Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca

Princeton University Innovation Fund

National Science Foundation

Publisher

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Subject

Multidisciplinary

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