They then heated the crystal for 24 hours to up to 2, 700 degrees Fahrenheit--a process that forces the crystal surface to reorganize itself into a sawtooth pattern at three-nanometer intervals (at that breadth, 30, 000 such jagged edges side by side would be as wide as one human hair).

FORBES: Nanotech

The researchers then spray the crystal's surface with a specially designed polymer dissolved in a hydrocarbon-based solvent.

FORBES: Magazine Article

This signal causes the surface of the crystal to undulate.

ECONOMIST: MONITOR

To create the point-contact transistor, Shockley's team modified the cat's whisker by placing two fine metal wires close together on the surface of a germanium crystal, turning it from a diode into a triode.

ECONOMIST: The middle age of the transistor

The front sports a glass surface with three capacitive buttons and the back showcases the company's Crystal Reflection process -- an attractive patterned glass-like finish that's a bit of a fingerprint magnet.

ENGADGET: LG Optimus G: hands-on with Korea's latest powerhouse (video) (updated)