This is incredibly cool: > Two novel techniques, atomic-resolution real-time video and conical carbon nanotube confinement, allow researchers to view never-bef

This is incredibly cool: > Two novel techniques, atomic-resolution real-time video and conical carbon nanotube confinement, allow researchers to view never-before-seen details about crystal formation. The observations confirm theoretical predictions about how salt crystals form and could inform general theories about the way in which crystal formation produces different ordered structures from an otherwise disordered chemical mixture. > To hold samples in place, we use atom-thick carbon nanohorns, one of our previous inventions. With the stunning videos Sakakibara captured, we immediately noticed the opportunity to study the structural and statistical aspects of crystal nucleation in unprecedented detail. Creating shaped nucleation sites using carbon nanotubes (nanohorns?) sounds like a fascinating technology. I don't have access to the paper unfortunately - I'm curious what other types of crystals could theoretically be grown with this technology. The authors mention graphite - what about silicon? Could it be used to grow more regular crystals for use in electronics? With fewer defects, I'd imagine we could reduce the failure rate in manufacturing.