Voyage dans le cristal

UNESCO, Paris, France

20-21 January 2014

The travelling exhibition Voyage dans le cristal (Journey into the crystal) was staged at UNESCO House as part of the Opening Ceremony of the International Year of Crystallography. In addition to the many posters available from this web site, several objects were displayed in show cases, as recorded here.

The structure of molecules of biological importance can be worked out with synchrotron radiation, using devices like the one that was used at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility by Nobel Prizewinner Brian Kobilka.

Exhibition

The demonstration of laser light diffracted by the fine mesh of a sieve demonstrates how X-rays diffract off the much smaller layers of atoms in a crystal.

Exhibition

Mankind's fascination with crystals was stimulated by the discovery of naturally occuring clusters of rock crystal (quartz).

Exhibition

The mystery of why diamonds sparkle, why they are so hard and yet can burn like coal was solved ultimately by the understanding of its structure that crystallography provided. This display shows models of the structures of diamond, graphite, fullerenes, nanotubes and graphene - all forms of pure carbon.

Exhibition

There are many applications of crystallography and the understanding of crystal structure in our daily lives, that help us to understand the world in all its diversity. This model shows the structure of Maya Blue, a unique azure blue pigment from pre-Columbian America.

Exhibition

This interactive model demonstrates how to tile a plane surface with local fivefold symmetry. Similar local symmetry in three dimensions is found in quasicrystals, materials that exhibit fivefold or tenfold symmetries in their structure that were once believed to be impossible.

Exhibition