Princeton University Researchers Discover Massless Particle Weyl Fermion
About 85 years ago, an elusive massless particle was theorised by physicist Hermann Weyl. Scientists had been looking for Weyl fermions for a long time as they are called as possible building blocks of other subatomic particles. Today, a team led by Princeton University researchers have found that particle. It is said that this particle has the potential to speed up electronics only to make it more efficient. The reason being that the massless particle has a peculiar ability to behave as matter and antimatter inside a crystal. The team's first finding of Weyl Fermions has led to the chance of the next-gen electronics allowing for a nearly free and efficient flow of electricity and therefore greater power for our computers.
In a report published in the journal Nature Communications, it has been stated that Weyl fermions could exist in a tantalum arsenide crystal. The researchers simulated dozens of crystal structures and then loaded them into a 2-story device known as a scanning tunneling spectromicroscope that is cooled to near absolute zero and suspended from the ceiling to prevent even atom-sized vibrations. This process was used to determine if the crystal matched the theoretical specifications for hosting a Weyl fermion.
Researchers from Princeton's Department of Physics
The Princeton team tested the crystals passing the spectro-microscope with the high-energy accelerator-based photon beams at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. On firing through the crystal, the beams' shape, size and direction indicated the presence of the long-elusive massless particle Weyl fermion.
In the pursuit of this elusive particle, the researchers had to work with various subjects such as physics theory, material science and chemistry.
It is interesting to note here that Weyl had suggested his fermion as an alternative to the theory of relativity proposed by his colleague Albert Einstein. Although that application never materialised, the characteristics of his theoretical mass particle particle continued to intrigue physicists for nearly a century.
What are your thoughts about that? Share with us in comments below.
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In a report published in the journal Nature Communications, it has been stated that Weyl fermions could exist in a tantalum arsenide crystal. The researchers simulated dozens of crystal structures and then loaded them into a 2-story device known as a scanning tunneling spectromicroscope that is cooled to near absolute zero and suspended from the ceiling to prevent even atom-sized vibrations. This process was used to determine if the crystal matched the theoretical specifications for hosting a Weyl fermion.
Researchers from Princeton's Department of Physics
The Princeton team tested the crystals passing the spectro-microscope with the high-energy accelerator-based photon beams at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. On firing through the crystal, the beams' shape, size and direction indicated the presence of the long-elusive massless particle Weyl fermion.
In the pursuit of this elusive particle, the researchers had to work with various subjects such as physics theory, material science and chemistry.
It is interesting to note here that Weyl had suggested his fermion as an alternative to the theory of relativity proposed by his colleague Albert Einstein. Although that application never materialised, the characteristics of his theoretical mass particle particle continued to intrigue physicists for nearly a century.
What are your thoughts about that? Share with us in comments below.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
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