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We present evidence for a thermodynamically stable incommensurate elongated-triangle (ELT) phase in quartz, observed by transmission electron microscopy at the α-β structural transition. The phase sequence on cooling is: incommensurate equilateral-triangle (EQT) phase (ferroelectric)—incommensurate ELT (ferroelectric and ferroelastic)— uniform α phase. The ELT blocks could be responsible for the large light scattering in the vicinity of the α-gb transition.
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