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Materials Crystal Properties (2 of 2)

Caption: 'Ground states' are the lowest energy states of matter. They are created in real life by taking a liquid and slowly cooling it until you reach absolute zero temperature. The resulting arrangement of molecules or particles is a 'ground state,' which often is an ordered crystal structure. This image shows an ordered ground state (called the face-centered cubic lattice), which is the end result of the slow cooling process.

Credit: Courtesy of Torquato Labs

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