@article{cae5fbd5f9e44fca86221682992e6319,
title = "Electrical discharge triggers quasicrystal formation in an eolian dune",
abstract = "We report the discovery of a dodecagonal quasicrystal Mn72.3Si15.6Cr9.7Al1.8Ni0.6-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 Mn68.9Si19.9Ni7.6Cr2.2Al1.4, 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 SiO2 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.",
keywords = "electrical discharge, fulgurite, quasicrystal, shock, solar system",
author = "Luca Bindi and Pasek, {Matthew A.} and Chi Ma and Jinping Hu and Guangming Cheng and Nan Yao and Asimow, {Paul D.} and Steinhardt, {Paul J.}",
note = "Funding Information: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. L.B. is funded by MIUR-PRIN2017, project “TEOREM— deciphering geological processes using Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial ORE Minerals,” prot. 2017AK8C32 (PI: Luca Bindi); P.J.S. was supported in part by the Princeton University Innovation Fund for New Ideas in the Natural Sciences; P.D.A. was supported in part by the NSF, award 1725349. We acknowledge the use of Princeton{\textquoteright}s Imaging and Analysis Center (IAC), which is partially supported by the Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM), a National Science Foundation (NSF) Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC; DMR-2011750). We wish to thank Chris Ballhaus for discussions of lightning in the early solar nebulaandTeresaSalvaticiforthehelpinthepreparationof thepolishedsamples. Funding Information: Competing interest statement: The authors declare a competing interest. The authors have research support to disclose, L.B. is funded by M 阀UR-PR 阀N2017, project ”TEOREM - deciphering geological processes using Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial ORE Minerals”, prot. 2017AK8C32 (P 阀: Luca Bindi); P.J.S. was supported in part by the Princeton University 阀nnovation Fund for New 阀deas in the Natural Sciences; P.D.A. was supported in part by NSF, award 1725349. The authors acknowledge the use of Princeton's 阀maging and Analysis Center ( 阀AC), which is partially supported by the Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM), a National Science Foundation (NSF) Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC; DMR-2011750). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 the Author(s).",
year = "2023",
month = jan,
day = "3",
doi = "10.1073/pnas.2215484119",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "120",
journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",
issn = "0027-8424",
publisher = "National Academy of Sciences",
number = "1",
}