Michel Fleck • Aram M. Petrosyan

2014

Crystallization, Structure and Properties

On asking somebody what they are made of, the reply frequently heard is ‘mostly water’. Although this statement is definitely correct, it is only the boring background material, so to say, on a par with the answer ‘air’ when asked what you have in your home. The really interesting stuff is there in smaller percentages, as for example carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins (in the case of our body). The first two of these three groups certainly fulfill important functions, but mostly structural ones.