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A vast, ancient crater in the western United States may be home to one of the most significant mineral discoveries of the century. Published in the journal Science Advances, researchers have identified a geological formation beneath this site that could dramatically reshape the global landscape for clean energy technology. A Supervolcano’s Legacy Becomes a Resource Powerhouse The McDermitt Caldera, measuring 45 by 35 kilometers, was formed 16.4 million years ago following a catastrophic volcanic eruption. Over time, a lake developed inside the caldera, collecting thick layers of volcanic ash and mineral-rich sediments. These conditions gave rise to lithium-bearing clay minerals,...

In a remarkable development, researchers have successfully turned light into a supersolid for the first time, paving the way for new insights into the unusual quantum states of matter. This achievement marks a significant milestone in the field of condensed matter physics. Dimitrios Trypogeorgos from Italy’s National Research Council (CNR) reportedly said, “We actually made light into a solid. That’s pretty awesome.” This feat builds on earlier work by fellow CNR scientist Danielle Sanvitto, who demonstrated over a decade ago that light could behave like a fluid. However, Trypogeorgos, Sanvitto, and their team have taken it further by creating what...

A supersolid is a paradox of physics — a material that is both solid and liquid at the same time. This contradictory form of matter was first proposed more than 60 years ago, and, for a long time, people thought it was too nuts to actually exist. But we’re talking about the realm of quantum mechanics, and normal expectations should be thrown out the window. In 2007, researchers at ETH Zurich and MIT unveiled the world’s first supersolids, starting with superflooding sodium and rubidium, respectively. Now, an international team of researchers has unveiled an entirely new route to supersolidity, harnessing...

Supramolecular assemblies of six rubidium and one iron atom. Scanning tunneling microscopy revealed the clear signal of the one iron atom. (Ajayi et al., Nature, 2023) ***************************************************************************** Atoms may not have bones, but we still want to know how they are put together. These tiny particles are the basis on which all normal matter is built (including our bones), and understanding them helps us understand the larger Universe. We currently use high-energy X-ray light to help us understand atoms and molecules and how they're arranged, catching diffracted beams to reconstruct their configurations in crystal form. Now, scientists have used X-rays...

Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs)—the existence of which was predicted by Albert Einstein and Indian mathematician Satyendra Nath Bose almost a century ago—are formed when atoms of certain elements are cooled to near absolute zero (0 Kelvin, minus 273.15 Celsius). At this point, the atoms become a single entity with quantum properties, wherein each particle also functions as a wave of matter. BECs straddle the line between the macroscopic world governed by forces such as gravity and the microscopic plane, ruled by quantum mechanics. Creating the fifth state of matter, especially within the physical confines of a space station, is no mean...

In new experiments, however, the physicists coaxed individual photons to cozy up to each other and link, similar to the way individual atoms stick together in molecules. The photon dance happens in a lab at MIT where the physicists run table-top experiments with lasers. Cantu, his colleague Aditya Venkatramani, a Ph.D. candidate in atomic physics at Harvard University, and their collaborators start by creating a cloud of chilled rubidium atoms. Rubidium is an alkali metal so it typically looks like a silver-white solid. But vaporizing rubidium with a laser and keeping it ultracold creates a cloud the researchers contain in...

Researchers at Japan's Tohoku University are making a bold claim: an entirely new state of matter. The team, led by Kosmas Prassides, says they've created what's called a Jahn-Teller metal by inserting rubidium, a strange alkali metal element, into buckyballs, a pure carbon structure which has a spherical shape from a series of interlocking polygons (think of the Epcot Center, but in microscopic size.) Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Buckyballs, which are somewhat related to other supermaterials like graphene and carbon nanotubes, are already known for their superconductive capabilities. Here, while combining buckyballs and rubidium, the researchers created a...

Enlarge ImageSolid evidence? An ultracold gas of rubidium atoms shows a crystalline-like arrangement of magnetic regions, making a possible supersolid material. Credit: M. Vengalattore et al., arXiv.org (24 January 2009) PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA--Five years ago, researchers in the United States saw the first evidence of a "supersolid," a bizarre state of matter in which crystals of ultracold helium could flow like a liquid without viscosity. But the evidence for supersolidity in helium has not been ironclad. Now, there is a new contender for the supersolidity claim. At the American Physical Society meeting here today, Dan Stamper-Kurn, a physicist at the...