With some chemical manipulation, the researchers also showed they could transform the crystal into a superconductor - a material that conducts electricity with zero resistance. It is the first time that scientists have achieved an electronic flat band in a three-dimensional material. Now, physicists at MIT have successfully trapped electrons in a pure crystal. Then, exotic behavior such as superconductivity and unique forms of magnetism may emerge. This collective, zombie-like state is what’s known in physics as an electronic “flat band,” and scientists predict that when electrons are in this state they can start to feel the quantum effects of other electrons and act in coordinated, quantum ways. The charged particles may jostle and bump against each other, but for the most part they’re unconcerned with other electrons as they hurtle forward, each with their own energy.īut when a material’s electrons are trapped together, they can settle into the exact same energy state and start to behave as one. Electrons move through a conducting material like commuters at the height of Manhattan rush hour.
