Scientists have blown up some atoms like balloons to create an extreme version of an ‘impossible’ state of matter. By bombarding rubidium atoms with lasers, physicists have forced them into an airy Rydberg state. This experiment resulted in an exotic state of matter known as a time crystal. According to the team, this opens up … Read more
Experimental protocol and mean-field phase diagram. Credit: Physics (2024). DOI file: 10.1038/s41567-024-02542-9 A crystal is a system of atoms that repeats itself in space at regular intervals: at every point, the crystal looks exactly the same. In 2012, Nobel Prize winner Frank Wilczek asked the question: Could there also be a time crystal, an object … Read more
Credit: ACS Nano (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c12802 Researchers from EPFL’s Laboratory for Theory and Simulation of Materials in Lausanne, part of the NCCR MARVEL, have used computational methods to identify what could be the thinnest possible metal wire, as well as several other one-dimensional materials with properties that could be of interest to many applications. One-dimensional … Read more
This article was reviewed according to Science fact checked peer-reviewed publication proofread OK! by Nicola Nosengo, National Center for Competence in Research (NCCR) MARVEL Credit: ACS Nano (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c12802 × close to Credit: ACS Nano (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c12802 Researchers from EPFL’s Laboratory for Theory and Simulation of Materials in Lausanne, part of the NCCR … Read more