Metastable states of floating crystals (IMAGE)

University of Liège

Metastable states of floating crystals

Caption

Animation of the growth of a floating crystal from N=3 to N=19 particles. Particles are added one by one to the surface of the liquid under magnetic field. The attractive capillary forces are counterbalanced by the repulsive magnetic forces. The assembly shows a symmetry typical of atomic crystals.

Credit

©Université de Liège / N.Vandewalle

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