Abstract
Quasicrystals and metallic glasses lack translational symmetry and appear to manifest increasing disorder in metallic alloys. This possible relationship is discussed in the light of thermodynamics measurements. It is analysed in the framework of structural models which restore as much as possible a generative symmetry hidden behind the apparent disorder, or behind the incompatibility with the translational symmetry of the conventional crystals, observable in our usual physical space. The different models—based on stereochemically defined packings, curved space or higher-dimensional crystallography—are still disconnected to a large extent but cross-fertilization seems to emerge and is briefly described.