“Using the supercomputer at SCRI enabled Dalal and his colleagues to perform numerous highly complex calculations that couldn’t be duplicated in a laboratory environment. For example, they were able to theoretically alter the angles of ADP’s ammonium ions and then measure the effects on the crystal’s electrical charge. That approach ultimately led to their solution to the seven-decade mystery.

‘We found that the position of the ammonium ions in the compound, as well as the presence of stresses or defects in the crystal, determine whether it behaves in a ferroelectric or antiferroelectric manner,’ Dalal said.”

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