Curiosity about a mistake that left tiny dots on a germanium wafer with evaporated metal films led to the discovery of beautiful spiral patterns etched on the surface of the semiconductor by a ...

A team of physicists at UCLA has uncovered a strange and unexpected phenomenon—spiral patterns forming spontaneously on solid surfaces. The discovery, which began with a simple mistake in the lab, is ...

Distinctive spiral patterns carved into a small jade ring show that China was using complex machines more than 2500 years ago, says a Harvard graduate student in physics. The ring was among the goods ...