2 ms·
> a phenomenon in which a seemingly stable crystal structure is suddenly unable to be produced The whole intro to this article really undersold to me how signi
by cvoss 3y ago
> a phenomenon in which a seemingly stable crystal structure is suddenly unable to be produced
The whole intro to this article really undersold to me how significant a phenomenon this is describing. My jaw dropped when I got into the Case Studies section. Apparently there are certain drugs which are nigh impossible to make today because a more stable (but medically ineffective (or still patented)) version of the crystal was once created and now contaminates the atmosphere in microscopic quantities.
- eru 3y agoThe article also mentions the same in reverse: > It is hypothesized that "unintentional seeding" may also be responsible for the phenomenon in which it often becomes easier to crystallize synthetic compounds over time. (Well, to be fair, the only thing that's reversed is the human value judgement. The proposed mechanism is the same.)