An experimental criterion for the nano-to-bulk phase transition

It is shown in this work that the transition from bulk-to-nanophase of a material is a first order phase transition. An experimental criterion for the onset of the nanophase is the occurrence of phonon confinement effects as determined from Raman or Brillouin light scattering experiments. A further consequence of the model presented is that quasicrystals are a natural subset of the nanophase as defined in the current work and should be treated as a sub-form of this phase.