Multifaceted Mineral: Intense heat, pressure bear new form of silica

By squeezing a sample of quartz to pressures higher than those deep within Earth while zapping the material with a laser, scientists have created an exotic mineral previously unknown on Earth. They speculate that it may occur naturally on some large planets.

TIGHT SQUEEZE. In this depiction of a silicon dioxide crystal, white balls represent oxygen atoms while the blue octahedrons enclose silicon atoms.