Since the electrical properties of solids depend on their crystal structures, his group is experimenting with new atomic lattices.

ECONOMIST: Thermoelectrics

Hydrogen was indeed found, but it is still unclear whether it is in the form of ice, or of some other hydrogen-containing compound, such as hydrated minerals that have water bound chemically into their crystal structures.

ECONOMIST: Creative destruction

In order to make a photonic crystal, though, the materials have to be organised into structures no more than a wavelength of light apart.

ECONOMIST: Microelectronics grows up