Can the spirit of “Wabi-Sabi” be seen through science? This book explores the Japanese tea ceremony and its utensils from the field of materials science. While tea master Rikyu Sen perfected his art, his contemporary Leonardo da Vinci was integrating art and science in Europe.
Plasticity in solids is determined not by defects, but by the distribution of valence electrons. An isotropic distribution causes lattice instability, making solids more plastic but less strong. This work introduces a novel model of a plastic crystal based on this concept.