A crystal with a ‘ forbidden symmetry ’ that was once thought to be impossible to form naturally has been found . The so-called quasicrystal was discovered in a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite in a remote region of northeastern Russia . And studying it could help scientists find out how mysterious materials like this formed in the universe . Scientists at Princeton University , New Jersey studied an ancient meteorite ( shown ) and found a quasicrystal with a structure that it was once dubbed 'impossible ' . It was thought such material could not naturally occur in nature because the crystal has a symmetry in which atoms should n't form . The discovery was made by a team from Princeton University , and is the second natural quasicrystal ever found - both in this meteorite . Prior to the team finding the first natural quasicrystal in 2009 , researchers thought that the structures were too fragile and energetically unstable to be formed by natural processes . ‘ The finding of a second naturally occurring quasicrystal confirms that these materials can form in nature and are stable over cosmic time scales , ’ said Dr Paul Steinhardt from Princeton University . On the outside , quasicrystals are solid minerals that look like quite normal , but it is their inner structure that fascinates scientists . Instead of the regularly repeating clusters of atoms seen in most crystals , quasicrystals contain a more subtle and intricate atomic arrangement involving two or more repeating clusters . As a result , a quasicrystal ’ s atoms can be arranged in ways that are not commonly found in crystals , such as the shape of a 20-sided icosahedron with the symmetry of a soccer ball . The difference between crystals and quasicrystals can be visualized by imagining a tiled floor : Tiles that are six-sided hexagons can fit neatly against each other to cover the entire floor . But five-sided pentagons or 10-sided decagons laid next to each will result in gaps between tiles . The team published the findings in the journal Scientific Reports . Dr Steinhardt said the discovery raises the possibility that other types of quasicrystals can be formed in nature . Quasicrystals are very hard , have low friction , and do n't conduct heat very well - making them good candidates for applications such as protective coatings on items ranging from airplanes to non-stick cookware . The newly discovered quasicrystal , which is yet to be named , has a structure that resembles flat 10-sided disks stacked in a column . This type of structure is impossible in ordinary crystals , in which atoms are packed closely together in a repeated and orderly fashion , earning it the ‘ forbidden symmetry ’ moniker . ‘ The structure is saying ' ” I am not a crystal , but on the other hand , I am not random either , ” ’ Dr Steinhardt said . Crystals with these ‘ forbidden symmetries ’ had been created in the laboratory , but it was n't until 2009 that Dr Steinhardt and his team reported the first natural quasicrystal , now known as icosahedrite , in a rock that had been collected years before in Chukotka , Russia . On the left , the top panel shows the symmetry of the first natural quasicrystal called icosahedrite . The lower panel shows the symmetry of the recently discovered quasicrystal , which has not yet been named . Right is the ordered yet non-standard pattern of the quasicrystal revealed by an electron beam . Crystals with these ‘ forbidden symmetries ’ had been created in the laboratory , but it was n't until 2009 that Dr Steinhardt and his team reported the first natural quasicrystal , now known as icosahedrite , in a rock that had been collected years before in Chukotka , Russia ( shown ) The researchers confirmed that the quasicrystal originated in an extraterrestrial body that formed about 4.57 billion years ago - around the time our solar system formed . They published those results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2012 . ‘ Bringing back the material and showing that it was of natural origins was an important scientific barrier to overcome , ’ Dr Steinhardt said . This new quasicrystal was found in a different grain of the same meteorite and has 10-fold , or decagonal , symmetry . It is made up of aluminum , nickel and iron , which normally are not found together in the same mineral because aluminum binds quickly to oxygen , blocking attachment to nickel and iron . The researchers confirmed that the quasicrystal originated in an extraterrestrial body that formed about 4.57 billion years ago , which is around the time our solar system formed ( artist 's illustration shown ) The researchers are now exploring how the mineral formed . ‘ We know there was a meteor impact , and that the temperature was around 1,000 to 1,200 degrees Kelvin , and that the pressure was a hundred thousand times greater than atmospheric pressure , but that is not enough to tell us all the details , ’ said Dr Steinhardt . ‘ We 'd like to know whether the formation of quasicrystals is rare or is fairly frequent , how it occurs , and whether it could happen in other solar systems . ‘ What we find out could answer basic questions about the materials found in our universe . ’
Scientists at Princeton University , New Jersey studied ancient meteorite . They found a second quasicrystal with a 'forbidden symmetry ' It was thought such material could not naturally occur in nature . Crystal has a symmetry in which it should n't be possible for atoms to form . Discovery could shed light on how these materials exist in the universe .