As is usually the case with any advanced physics / astrophysics article I read, I can't get into the article because I'm stuck mulling over a premise. Article states:
> The laws of physics are symmetric through space ... But in a crystal, this gorgeous symmetry gets broken. The molecules of a crystal arrange themselves in a preferred direction, creating a repeating spatial structure. In the jargon of physicists, a crystal is a perfect example of "spontaneous symmetry breaking" — the fundamental laws of physics remain symmetric, but the arrangement of the molecules is not.
I don't understand how crystals break spatial symmetry. Are we talking about some absolute spatial directional bias? If it's just relative the crystal lattice itself I can't see how that breaks symmetry.
> The laws of physics are symmetric through space ... But in a crystal, this gorgeous symmetry gets broken. The molecules of a crystal arrange themselves in a preferred direction, creating a repeating spatial structure. In the jargon of physicists, a crystal is a perfect example of "spontaneous symmetry breaking" — the fundamental laws of physics remain symmetric, but the arrangement of the molecules is not.
I don't understand how crystals break spatial symmetry. Are we talking about some absolute spatial directional bias? If it's just relative the crystal lattice itself I can't see how that breaks symmetry.