Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Topological Insulators

Topological insulators: Star material in Nature.
Topological insulators are a new kind of material which conduct electricity only on their surfaces. There are new, inexpensive compounds based on bismuth which have created a lot of excitement.
Solid-state physics: U-turns strictly prohibited also in Nature.
According to theory, electrons on the surface of a topological insulator are not allowed to make U-turns. This notion, and some of its main consequences, has now been tested experimentally.

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