For the first time, physicists have observed novel quantum effects in a topological insulator at room temperature.
For the first time, physicists have observed novel quantum effects in a topological insulator at room temperature.
Researchers at Princeton found that a material known as a topological insulator, made from the elements bismuth and bromine, exhibit specialized quantum behaviors normally seen only under extreme experimental conditions of high pressures and temperatures near absolute zero. The finding opens up a new range of possibilities for the development of efficient quantum technologies, such as spin-based, high-energy-efficiency electronics.
For the first time, physicists have observed novel quantum effects in a topological insulator at room temperature. This breakthrough, published as the cover article of the October issue of Nature Materials, came when Princeton scientists explored a topological material based on the element bismuth.
The scientists have used topological insulators to demonstrate quantum effects for more than a decade, but this experiment is the first time these effects have been observed at room temperature. Typically, inducing and observing quantum states in topological insulators requires temperatures around absolute zero, which is equal to minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit (or -273 degrees Celsius).
Read more at Princeton University
Image: Researchers at Princeton found that a material known as a topological insulator, made from the elements bismuth and bromine, exhibit specialized quantum behaviors normally seen only under extreme experimental conditions of high pressures and temperatures near absolute zero. (Image Credit: Shafayat Hossain and M. Zahid Hasan of Princeton University)
