Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

“There is no such animal (אין חיה כזו)”—Lessons of a discovery

  • EDITORIAL
  • Published:
Structural Chemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The discovery of quasicrystals by Dan Shechtman in the early 1980s was a conspicuous event in materials science not only because it led to the production of a plethora of new materials but also because it signified the demise of a dogma in the science of condensed phase materials concerning symmetry restrictions. Having the discovery recognized was not easy and it required stamina on Shechtman’s part. The story of the quasicrystal discovery offers a set of lessons that might be useful to remember in similar situations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

References

  1. Csanády A, Papp K, Dobosy M, Bauer M (1990) Symmetry 1:75–79

    Google Scholar 

  2. Shechtman D, Blech I, Gratias D, Cahn JW (1984) Phys Rev Lett 53:1951–1953

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Mackay AL (1981) Kristallografiya 26:910–919

    Google Scholar 

  4. Shechtman D, Blech I (1985) Metall Trans 16A:1005–1012

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Levine D, Steinhardt PJ (1984) Phys Rev Lett 53:2477–2480

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. From Max Planck (1948) A Scientific Autobiography, quoted in W. F. Bynum, Roy Porter, eds, Oxford Dictionary of Scientific Quotations. OUP, Oxford, UK, 2005, p 494

  7. Hargittai M, Hargittai I (2009; 2010) Symmetry through the eyes of a chemist, 3rd edn. Springer

  8. Hargittai I, Hargittai M (2000) In Our Own Image: Personal Symmetry in Discovery. Kluwer, NY

    Google Scholar 

  9. Hargittai I (2010) J Mol Struct 976:81–86

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Hargittai I (2011) Drive and curiosity: What fuels the passion for science. Prometheus, Amherst, NY

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry and Materials Structure and Modeling Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, PO Box 91, Budapest, 1521, Hungary

    Istvan Hargittai

Authors
  1. Istvan Hargittai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Istvan Hargittai.

Additional information

This Editorial is based on an invited contribution to IGGERET, the Hebrew-language publication of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hargittai, I. “There is no such animal (אין חיה כזו)”—Lessons of a discovery. Struct Chem 22, 745–748 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11224-011-9792-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11224-011-9792-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation