Advertisement
Grab your lab coat. Let's get started
Welcome!
Welcome!
Create an account below to get 6 C&EN articles per month, receive newsletters and more - all free.
It seems this is your first time logging in online. Please enter the following information to continue.
As an ACS member you automatically get access to this site. All we need is few more details to create your reading experience.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
Materials
Chemistry In Pictures
Chemistry in Pictures: C’est magnifique!
by Alexandra Taylor
February 12, 2019
This tangle of crystals is made up of minty menthol. Vance Williams, a professor of organic materials at Simon Fraser University, took this photograph at 20x magnification using polarized optical microscopy. “The form of the crystals arises from their tendency to grow as thin needles,” Williams explains. “With rapid cooling, this can become quite chaotic.” The needlike structures come from the crystals’ propensity to grow rapidly in one direction, while the variations in color arise from the crystals’ orientation and thickness, as well as differences in their refractive index. Williams’s research focuses on analyzing liquid crystalline materials; he photographed these crystals as part of an outreach effort to show people every-day chemicals close up.
Credit: Vance Williams
Do science. Take pictures. Win money. Enter our photo contest here.
Related C&EN Content:
You might also like...
The power is now in your (nitrile gloved) hands
Sign up for a free account to get more articles. Or choose the ACS option that’s right for you.
Already have an ACS ID? Log in
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on Twitter