Phys.org April 14, 2021
Crystals have been shown to be stiffer than similar periodic or disordered materials and conduct electricity. Researchers at the University of Utah have shown how ultrasound waves can organize carbon particles in water resulting in “quasicrystals” with custom magnetic or electrical properties. They experimentally demonstrated this by using ultrasound waves to assemble quasiperiodic patterns of carbon nanoparticles in water using an octagonal arrangement of ultrasound transducers, and documented good agreement between theory and experiments. The theory also applies to obtaining quasiperiodic patterns in other situations where particles move with linear waves, such as optical lattices. According to the researchers, with this method it is possible to create quasiperiodic materials that are either 2-D or 3-D and that can have essentially any of the common quasiperiodic symmetries by choosing the arrangement of the ultrasound transducers and how they are driven. Known applications of quasiperiodic materials include nonstick coatings, and coatings insulating against heat transfer. An eventual application might be to create materials that can manipulate electromagnetic waves like those that 5G cellular technology uses today…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Ultrasound transducers. Credit: Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 145501, 8 April 2021