Re: Dislocation creates 'whirlpool' that pulls surface atoms into crystal

From: Edward Green (spamspamspam3_at_netzero.com)
Date: 06/12/04 

Date: 12 Jun 2004 15:40:04 GMT

neutron_p@lycos.com (Neutron) wrote in message
news:<ca8jgu0ndj@enews1.newsguy.com>...
> http://www.physorg.com/news160.html
>
> Developing novel ways to control the motion of atoms on surfaces is
> essential for the future of nanotechnology. Now, researchers at the
> University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found a phenomenon of
> dislocation-driven nucleation and growth that creates holes that
> spiral into a surface and pull atoms into crystalline solids.

An archtypical example of science reporting distortion:

Any reasonable but naive observer would think they had "discovered"
dislocations. A slightly less naive observer might think they had
discovered prefered transport along disordered regions.

> The newly discovered mechanism identified as a series of spiral
> steps around dislocations terminating at the surface of titanium
> nitride,

Or perhaps they discovered screw dislocations. That _is_ news! :-|

> a technologically important material used in microelectronics
> and hard coatings could potentially be put to use in controlling

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