Scientists were able to use lasers to create a "supercrystal." The key to making this happen? Frustration. » Subscribe to Seeker!
» Watch more Elements!
A team of scientists managed to use a laser pulse to create a crystal with giant repeating structures that are much larger than those in ordinary crystals, what’s known as a “supercrystal.”
But lasers have actually been used to transform materials into more ordered states of matter for decades, what made this instance particularly special was that this supercrystal could stay in that state for at least a year (potentially even longer had the study lasted longer).
This is one of the first examples of a material that achieved long-term stability after being rearranged using such a short laser pulse, and the key? A lot of frustration.
When blasted by photons from a laser, the electrons in matter get excited, before minimizing their energy again and quickly returning to their normal state. In that heightened phase, or on the way back down, the material might have properties the scientists are looking for, but scientists have to act fast to spot them because the properties might not stick around for long.
Scientists started with a crystal substrate they would use to grow single atomic layers of their material made of lead titanate and strontium titanate.
The scientists were looking for hidden states of matter by taking it out of its comfortable state, also known as its ground state. With the added energy from a sub-picosecond pulse of light the material arranged itself into repeating unit cells with a volume a million times greater than the lead titanate or strontium titanate it was based on.
It wasn’t just a crystal anymore. It was a supercrystal.
Learn more about the supercrystal and what it could mean for future research and the understanding of materials on this episode of Elements.
#Lasers #Supercrystal #StateOfMatter #Seeker #Elements #Science
This New State of Matter Is a Liquid and a Solid at the Same Time!
Read More:
Supercrystal: A hidden phase of matter created by a burst of light
"Frustration" plus a pulse of laser light resulted in a stable 'supercrystal' created by a team of researchers led by Penn State and Argonne National Laboratory, together with University of California, Berkeley, and two other national laboratories.."
Supercrystal. Creating a new state of matter
"Finding these states is done by a pump-probe technique when a laser fires a photon of blue light at the sample for 100 femtoseconds. The pump light excites the electrons into a higher energy state and is quickly followed by a probe light, which is a gentler pulse of light that reads the state of the material."
Physicists Captured a Hidden 'Supercrystal' State of Matter With a Laser Burst
"You can't make supercrystals out of any old matter. The team used alternating layers of single-atom thick lead titanate and strontium titanate, stacked into a three-dimensional structure. They grew these layers on a base (substrate) of dysprosium scandium oxide, whose crystals are in between the size of crystals formed by the two other materials."
____________________
Elements is more than just a science show. It’s your science-loving best friend, tasked with keeping you updated and interested on all the compelling, innovative and groundbreaking science happening all around us. Join our passionate hosts as they help break down and present fascinating science, from quarks to quantum theory and beyond.
Seeker explains every aspect of our world through a lens of science, inspiring a new generation of curious minds who want to know how today’s discoveries in science, math, engineering and technology are impacting our lives, and shaping our future. Our stories parse meaning from the noise in a world of rapidly changing information.
Visit the Seeker website
Elements on Facebook
Subscribe now!
Seeker on Twitter
Seeker on Facebook
Seeker
0 Comments