Nobel for Chemistry Awarded

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded Wednesday to Daniel Schectman, an Israeli scientist who discovered “quasicrystals.” Originally thought to be impossible, Schectman’s 1982 research showed that the atoms in crystals did not have to follow symmetrical patterns—that they could, in fact, follow patterns that could never be repeated. They have been discovered in durable steel and are being experimented with in coating for frying pans and heat insulation for engines. They were also discovered in nature in 2009.