If the creation of metallic hydrogen - the "holy grail" of
condensed-matter physics - is confirmed, it would not only significantly advance our understanding of the general properties of the element, it would also pave the way for the creation of revolutionary new materials, including room temperature superconductors. In addition, the material could be used as an ultralight and extremely powerful rocket fuel.
"This is a new state of matter--in
condensed-matter physics this is the highest goal," says Shoucheng Zhang, a theoretical physicist at Stanford University.
"I find this one of the most interesting discoveries that has emerged in
condensed-matter physics in the last decade," comments Laurence Eaves of the University of Nottingham in England.
"I think it's going to revolutionize
condensed-matter physics," which examines materials including solids and liquids, adds Kathryn J.
By providing novel insights into long-standing open questions of
condensed-matter physics, they pave the way towards the development of new materials and quantum devices.
The young newcomer quickly became a star of
condensed-matter physics as he and his colleagues purportedly carried out a string of remarkable and widely acclaimed feats.
In the first work package, we will use the concerted effort and abundant synergies of the globe-spanning team of research groups to study a wide range of dynamical phenomena in statistical and
condensed-matter physics, ranging from magnetic systems, to model systems on complex networks, to complex electronic systems such as graphene, to applications in soft matter and bio-physics.
However, the new report argues, the labs' strengths and tools should be focused on, if not primarily restricted to, answering questions in DOE's traditional mission areas: national security, energy, environmental science and technology, and the fundamental fields that underpin these disciplines -- principally high-energy, nuclear, and
condensed-matter physics. In particular, Galvin and his colleagues argued, the labs should neither look for new missions nor expand into research arenas now addressed effectively or more appropriately by others in government, industry, or academia.
In addition, granular media are offering new insights into problems in
condensed-matter physics, geophysics and materials science.
Consider an analogous situation in the realm of
condensed-matter physics. In principle, it's possible to calculate what happens inside a material using quantum electrodynamics - the mathematical framework and theory for describing the behavior of electrons and other electrically charged particles.
In
condensed-matter physics, for example, experimenters fret over electrical signals generated by the unceasing movement of atoms and ions or by voltages induced whenever dissimilar metals touch.
In 1985, noting the close analogy between symmetry-breaking phase transitions in particle and
condensed-matter physics, astrophysicist Wojciech H.
