International physicists create room temperature supersolid exciton-polariton Bose-Einstein condensate
Physicists have pulled off something pretty cool. They have created a new kind of quantum matter that works at room temperature.
This state, called a supersolid exciton-polariton Bose-Einstein condensate, acts like both a liquid and a solid at the same time.
The breakthrough comes from an international team of researchers, including Wiktor Piecek from the Military University of Technology in Poland.
Team uses microcavity without extreme cooling
The team used an affordable microcavity setup with liquid crystals and organic semiconductors, zapped by laser pulses, to make this happen: no extreme cooling was needed.
While the materials do not last long yet, each laser pulse caused unique shifts in the material's pattern.
This discovery could open doors for future technology like advanced computing systems and sensors, even though there are still challenges ahead with making these reactions last longer.