A holmiumâmagnesiumâzinc (HoâMgâZn) quasicrystal is a quasicrystal made of an alloy of the three metals holmium, magnesium and zinc that has the shape of a regular dodecahedron, a Platonic solid with 12 five-sided faces. [1] [2] Unlike the similar pyritohedron shape of some cubic-system crystals such as pyrite, this quasicrystal has faces that are true regular pentagons.
The crystal is part of the R–Mg–Zn family of crystals, where R=
Y,
Gd,
Tb,
Dy,
Ho or
Er. They were first discovered in 1994.
[3] These form quasicrystals in the stoichiometry around R
9Mg
34Zn
57.
[2] Magnetically, they form a
spin glass at cryogenic temperatures.
While the experimental discovery of quasicrystals dates back to the 1980s, the relatively large, single grain nature of some HoâMgâZn quasicrystals has made them a popular way to illustrate the concept. [4] [5]
A holmiumâmagnesiumâzinc (HoâMgâZn) quasicrystal is a quasicrystal made of an alloy of the three metals holmium, magnesium and zinc that has the shape of a regular dodecahedron, a Platonic solid with 12 five-sided faces. [1] [2] Unlike the similar pyritohedron shape of some cubic-system crystals such as pyrite, this quasicrystal has faces that are true regular pentagons.
The crystal is part of the R–Mg–Zn family of crystals, where R=
Y,
Gd,
Tb,
Dy,
Ho or
Er. They were first discovered in 1994.
[3] These form quasicrystals in the stoichiometry around R
9Mg
34Zn
57.
[2] Magnetically, they form a
spin glass at cryogenic temperatures.
While the experimental discovery of quasicrystals dates back to the 1980s, the relatively large, single grain nature of some HoâMgâZn quasicrystals has made them a popular way to illustrate the concept. [4] [5]