Crystal Force

Scientists measure the mysterious force that makes crystals align
https://www.sott.net/article/350059-New-research-Scientists-measure-the-mysterious-force-that-makes-crystals-align

Interesting read. I'm not convinced about their conclusions but I would need to re-read Miles' paper on Van der Waals forces to get a better idea of this. When they talk about needing the right amount of rotation for two crystals to stick together, I couldn't help but think of the charge fields aligning. Add in the Earth's charge emission and we have a completely different set of forces at work.