#nucleation

The Scientific Research Notes Of S. Sunkavally (years: 2002-2011).

The Scientific Research Notes Of S. Sunkavally (years; 2002-2011).

Science, Volume 389, Issue 6760, Page 632-636, August 2025. Summary Without knowing the specific content of that Science issue, I can only offer a generic summary based on the journal and typical article types. A hypothetical Science article in Volume 389, Issue 6760 (August 2025), pages 632-636, likely presents cutting-edge research in a scientific field. It may report on a novel discovery,…

Revealing nano big bang: Scientists observe the first milliseconds of crystal formation

When we grow crystals, atoms first group together into small clusters—a process called nucleation. But understanding exactly how such atomic ordering emerges from the chaos of randomly moving atoms has long eluded scientists. 

Classical nucleation theory suggests that crystals form one atom at a time, steadily increasing the level of order. Modern studies have also observed a two-step nucleation process, where a temporary, high-energy structure forms first, which then changes into a stable crystal. But according to an international research team co-led by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), the real story is even more complicated.

Their findings, recently reported in the journal Science, reveal that rather than grouping together one-by-one or making a single irreversible transition, gold atoms will instead self-organize, fall apart, regroup, and then reorganize many times before establishing a stable, ordered crystal. Using an advanced electron microscope, the researchers witnessed this rapid, reversible nucleation process for the first time. Their work provides tangible insights into the early stages of many growth processes such as thin-film deposition and nanoparticle formation.