For the first time, the researchers transformed light into a “supersolid” – a strange state of matter that is both solid and liquid at the same time.
Although scientists have already made supersolides from atoms, this is the first example of coupling of light and material to create a supersolide and it opens up new doors to study condensed physics, the researchers explained in an article published on March 5 in the newspaper Science.
But what exactly is Supersolide, and why is this new development so exciting? Here is everything you need to know.
What is a supersolid?
Supersolids are a strange state of matter defined by quantum mechanics where the particles condense in a ordered and crystalline solid, but also move as a liquid that has no viscosity. (The viscosity refers to the internal friction of a substance, governing the way it flows smoothly). Usually the solids do not move alone, but the supersolides change direction and density according to the interactions of the particles while maintaining an organized network structure.
Why are Supersolids so cold?
Supersolides require extremely low temperatures to form – generally very close to absolute zero (minus 459.67 degrees fahrenheit, or less 273.15 degrees Celsius). Most particles must occupy the lowest available energy condition, and heat blows up the particles from top to bottom like excitable toddlers in a ball pit.
If a material is cold enough, the temperature no longer obscures the way the particles interact with each other. Instead, the tiny effects of quantum mechanics become the determining factors of how the material behaves.
Imagine that the toddlers have returned home and that the ball pit has settled in a calm state. Now we can study in peace how individual components of the ball pit interact with each other to define its characteristics.
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How can a liquid have no viscosity?
Viscosity is a measure of the ease with which a fluid modifies its shape. A liquid with a higher viscosity tends to stick more to itself and, therefore, to resist movement, like the way in which syrup moves slower when poured from a container compared to the way in which water flows from a tap. All fluids, with the exception of superfluids and supersolids, have some viscosity.
The best known example of a viscosity liquid is cooled by helium at temperatures a few degrees of absolute zero. The particles are not completely absolute zero; – They move a little because of The principle of uncertainty. In the case of the isotope of helium-4, they move a lot-enough to make it impossible a helium-4 sample to become solid at absolute zero, unless there are about 25 pressure atmospheres applied to really crush the particles together.
Helium-4 torcoes with absolute zero and other quantum phenomena cause drastic changes in the way the fluid acts. He stops having friction (and therefore has no viscosity) and can quickly be siphon from containers, among others.
How can we transform light into solid?
Supersolides were Made from atomic gas Before. However, the new research has used a new mechanism based on the properties of “polariton” systems.
The polaritons are formed by the coupling of the photons (light) and the quasiparticles such as excitons through strong electromagnetic interactions. Their properties allow them to condense the lowest possible energy as possible in the same way as certain atomic gases. In other words, light is associated with matter, and together, they can be condensed in supersolide.
Why are Supersolids useful?
Supersolids are important to study because they show the effects of tiny quantum interactions between particles without the temperature being shown. When we map the behavior and characteristics of supersolids, we really examine how atoms and particles are assembled. This teaches us about the world in which we live on a fundamental level.
With more research and development, supersolides could be used to quantum calculation,, superconductorsLubricants without friction and applications that we have not even started to think yet. There are so many possibilities that we have not yet discovered – and making a super light is a big step forward.