Harvard scientists
observe a state of matter expected and hunted for 50 years but never before
observed.
Physicist
Philip W. Anderson in 1973, speculated the existence of a new state of matter
that has been a major center of the field, particularly in the race for quantum
computers.
This strange
state of matter is called a quantum spin liquid and, it has nothing to do with ordinary
liquids like water. Rather, it’s all about magnets that never freeze and the
way electrons in them spin. In normal magnets, when the temperature falls below
a certain temperature, the electrons stabilize and form a solid piece of matter
with magnetic properties. In quantum spin liquid, the electrons don’t stabilize
when temperature drops, don’t form into a solid, and are continuously changing
and fluctuating (like a liquid) in one of the most entangled quantum states
ever witnessed.
The
different properties of quantum spin liquids have likely applications that can
be used to advance quantum technologies like high-temperature superconductors
and quantum computers. But the issue about this state of matter has been its
very existence. No one had ever seen anything like this before.
A team of
Harvard-led researchers said they have finally experimentally documented this
long sought-after mysterious state of matter. The work is defined in a new
study in the journal Science and marks a big step toward being able to produce
this obscure state on demand and to gain a unique understanding of its
mysterious nature.
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