What do you think of these rather peculiar flowers?
These colourful flower-like sculptures aren't made by mother nature but by chemists in a lab. They are just microns across.
By manipulating chemical gradients in a beaker of fluid, Wim Noorduin, from the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, found that he can control the growth behaviour of these crystals to create precisely tailored structures.
"For at least 200 years, people have been intrigued by how complex shapes could have evolved in nature. This work helps to demonstrate what’s possible just through environmental, chemical changes," says Noorduin.
The precipitation of the crystals depends on a reaction of compounds that are diffusing through a liquid solution. The crystals grow toward or away from certain chemical gradients as the pH of the reaction shifts back and forth. The conditions of the reaction dictate whether the structure resembles broad, radiating leaves, a thin stem, or a rosette of petals.
Read the full story of how these crystal flowers were made.
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