The Clathrate reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Clathrate

A clathrate is a chemical substance consisting of a lattice of one type of molecule trapping and containing a second type of molecule. (The word comes from the Greek klethra, meaning "bars" (in the sense of a lattice).) For example, a clathrate hydrate involves a special type of gas hydrate that consists of water molecules enclosing a trapped gas. Prospectors believe that compounds on the sea bed have trapped large amounts of methane in similar configurations. Researchers have begun to investigate silicon clathrates for possible semiconducting and superconducting properties.

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