Indiana Steinhardt and the Quest for Quasicrystals

Description

This book is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Paul Steinhardt, the Albert Einstein Professor of Science and Director of the Center for Theoretical Science at Princeton University. This extensive conversation provides a comprehensive account of a marvellous scientific adventure story in the quest for a natural quasicrystal. You will be taken on a fascinating ride through the physics of materials, from theory, to the laboratory, to the discovery of a new state of matter, that culminated in Paul Steinhardt s dramatic Siberian expedition. Paul Steinhardt talks about his encounters with mineral smugglers, secret diaries and quasi-mythical characters during his Indiana Jones  expedition from Florence to Israel, Amsterdam to California, Princeton to Kamchatka which led him to find quasicrystals that are quite literally out of this world... This carefully-edited book includes an introduction, Informed Authority, and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter: I. Introducing Quasicrystals - Innovative symmetries through visual disharmonies II. Building Models - Forcing forbidden symmetries III. Out of the Blue - The real world intervenes IV. Competing Explanations - A three-horse race V. Looking to Nature - Developing a separation algorithm VI. New Year s Delight - Persistence pays off VII. Confronting the Impossible - Encountering rock-hard scepticism VIII. Tracking Khatyrkite - Smoke, mirrors, and the holotype sample IX. Kamchatka - Closure, and perhaps another beginning X. Passing It On - How to keep the flame of science burning brightly About Ideas Roadshow Conversations Series: This book is part of an expanding series of 100+ Ideas Roadshow conversations, each one presenting a wealth of candid insights from a leading expert through a focused yet informal setting to give non-specialists a uniquely accessible window into frontline research and scholarship that wouldn't otherwise be encountered through standard lectures and textbooks. For other books in this series visit our website (https://ideas-on-film.com/ideasroadshow/). (Description from external book data)

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