
To make a perfect mirror, physicists confront the mystery of glass - dnetesn
http://abstractions.nautil.us/article/535/to-make-the-perfect-mirror-physicists-confront-the-mystery-of-glass
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seph-reed
The notion of dropping molecules one at a time blows my mind. It's the kind of
thing that seemingly should be able to create materials with properties that
only sci-fi would dare to imagine today.

They aren't yet to the point of being able to completely direct these
molecules, nor would they know exactly where to direct them, but someday we
will be able to.

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peterburkimsher
Building a tetrahedron of molecules sounds less like manipulating "glass" than
growing a crystal.

I feel like the fractal properties of crystals could be used to grow a very
precise mirror that would provide the constructive interference this mirror
needs. Instead of a fluid, it would be a single unit, and the molecules would
be trying to arrange themselves into shape. I'm no expert though, and I have
no idea whether the physics allows it.

The technology already exists in the semiconductor industry for making
extremely pure silicon wafers. Each wafer is actually a slice of a single
gigantic silicon crystal. [1] If that could be used with a transparent
material, I think it could be a decent alternative to glass.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocrystalline_silicon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocrystalline_silicon)

~~~
noir_lord
Rolls Royce makes its turbine blades out of a single perfect crystal in a
similar way, it’s the only way to achieve the strength and heat resistance
they need with the material they use.

[https://www.theengineer.co.uk/rolls-royce-single-crystal-
tur...](https://www.theengineer.co.uk/rolls-royce-single-crystal-turbine-
blade/)

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danbmil99
Wasn't this on YC news a couple weeks ago?

~~~
dang
Indeed it was:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22765531](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22765531)

