Scientifically speaking, the term “crystal” refers to any solid that has an ordered chemical structure. This means that its parts are arranged in a precisely ordered pattern, like bricks in a wall.

The solid inner core at the center of the Earth, surrounded by the outer core, mantle and crust. Here’s why: While it is well known that a material must be at or below its freezing temperature to be ...

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New research hints that plate tectonics began earlier than 4 billion years ago — not long after Earth had formed. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here ...

Scientists have a good understanding on how the moon formed, but when it formed has been harder to pin down. Crystals from the Apollo 17 mission just made things a lot easier. “These crystals are the ...

New research is reshaping how scientists understand the earliest days of Earth’s formation—suggesting that the deep interior of our planet locked in its defining features just 100 million years after ...

The moon’s surface formed at least 40 million years earlier than previously thought, according to a new study of an ancient crystal embedded in rock collected by Apollo 17 astronauts. For years, ...