Scientists throw crystals a curve

Particles forced to assemble inside a sphere form ordered ribbons

CORRALLED CRYSTALS  Inside a droplet of water between about 11 and 35 micrometers across, particles (orange) assemble into strips of crystals rather than chunks to avoid stressful bending.

Courtesy of Guangnan Meng and V. Manoharan/Harvard Univ.  

Scientists don’t need a crystal ball to predict how crystalline solids grow on flat planes.