Magic number colloidal clusters
(PHYSorg.com Physics)

Complexity in nature often results from self-assembly, and is considered particularly robust. Compact clusters of elemental particles can be shown to be of practical relevance, and are found in atomic nuclei, nanoparticles or viruses. An interdisciplinary team of researchers led by professors Nicolas Vogel and Michael Engel at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) has decoded the structure and the process behind the formation of one class of such highly ordered clusters. Their findings have increased the understanding of how structures are formed in clusters, and have now been published in Nature Communications.