Particle that only has mass when moving in one direction observed for first time | Penn State University
www.psu.edu
For the first time, scientists have observed a collection of particles, also known as a quasiparticle, that's massless when moving one direction but has mass in the other direction. The quasiparticle, called a semi-Dirac fermion, was first theorized 16 years ago, but was only recently spotted inside a crystal of semi-metal material called ZrSiS. The observation of the quasiparticle opens the door to future advances in a range of emerging technologies from batteries to sensors, according to researchers at Penn State.
  • halyk.the.red@lemmy.ml
    13·
    2 months ago
    1. Find shiny rock.
    2. Make rock cold.
    3. Place cold rock in invisible field that can levitate water droplets
    4. Shine energy on cold rock we can’t even see

    How is this not summoning mythical creatures or opening portals to other dimensions?

  • GHiLA@sh.itjust.works
    91·
    2 months ago

    if particles only have mass during certain conditions… could particles be used to compute?

    We’re talking… 3034 kinda tech here, but, hear me out.

    • Zement@feddit.nl
      5·
      2 months ago

      Gravity Vents/ Inertial Damening come to mind. Having momentum moving in one direction but not when reversing would mean infinite acceleration.

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
      3·
      2 months ago

      The computer you’re using is made out of particles. You have to be more specific.

      Hell, if it’s a newer device, it’s a series of switches operating on nearly-single electrons.

  • atro_city@fedia.io
    63·
    2 months ago

    Hmm… is this what could change space-flight? Imagine having a material that is nigh weighless when moving away from gravity but gains mass again when moving towards it. It would make it much more feasible to transport heavier stuff into space.

    • kn0wmad1c@programming.devEnglish
      3·
      2 months ago

      They quote in the article that when moving in certain directions, the fermion’s energy is completely derived from motion. So it’s essentially taking the m out of E = mc², which is still neat, but not really something you can scale up

    • protist@mander.xyzEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      Unfortunately we can’t just build something out of particles like this. Consider electrons or neutrinos, something similar is what we’re dealing with here.

      • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
        1·
        2 months ago

        Unfortunately we can’t just build something out of particles like this.

        Yet. We can’t do it yet. Now that we know it’s possible under the right conditions maybe we can figure it out with a century of effort.