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Phys. Rev. Lett. 53, 1951 - 1953 (1984)

Metallic Phase with Long-Range Orientational Order and No Translational Symmetry
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D. Shechtman and I. Blech
Department of Materials Engineering, Israel Institute of Technology- Technion, 3200 Haifa, Israel

D. Gratias
Centre d'Etudes de Chimie Métallurgique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, F-94400 Vitry, France

J. W. Cahn
Center for Materials Science, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20760

Received 9 October 1984

We have observed a metallic solid (Al-14-at.%-Mn) with long-range orientational order, but with icosahedral point group symmetry, which is inconsistent with lattice translations. Its diffraction spots are as sharp as those of crystals but cannot be indexed to any Bravais lattice. The solid is metastable and forms from the melt by a first-order transition.


©1984 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v53/p1951
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.53.1951
PACS: 61.50.Em, 61.55.Hg, 64.70.Ew

See Also

Comment: Peter W. Stephens and Alan I. Goldman, Stephens and Goldman Respond, Phys. Rev. Lett. 57, 2770 (1986)

Comment: Paul J. Steinhardt, Distinguishing a Quasicrystal from an Icosahedral Glass Via Lattice Imaging, Phys. Rev. Lett. 57, 2769 (1986)

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