Modeling crystal behavior: Towards answers in self-organization
Monday, September 17, 2018 - 15:50
in Physics & Chemistry
Researchers have created a model to explore the transition behavior of crystal lattices. Their system, based on spheroid particles with a permanent dipole, showed that the combination of anisotropic steric and dipole effects causes frustration that induces the coupling between polarization and strain, resulting in the self-organization. These findings are expected to contribute to the rational design of materials for applications including electro-mechanical actuators and electro-caloric refrigerators.