Asteroid Collisions Create a Forbidden Crystal

Crystals are pretty. They're also pretty interesting. They're found in nature in stunning variety, including all kinds of bizarre shapes. I find a lot of these shapes pleasing aesthetically due to their symmetry. Some are box-shaped, some hexagonal... but they're all fascinating. Crystals get this symmetry because of the way atoms interact. They're like puzzle pieces, connecting only in certain ways. For example, carbon atoms can bond to each other to form sheets that are a single atom thick, bu...