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Color vortex photography

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Although electrons were predicted in theory, they have not been seen to flow in the vortex until now.

Have you ever noticed the whirlpool formed when the bathtub or sink drains water, and then thought: Can electrons flow like this? But physicists have been thinking about this problem for decades. Now, scientists have observed electrons flowing in the vortex for the first time.

The interaction of water molecules leads to the collective behavior similar to fluid.

Because electrons are so small, any collective behavior is usually submerged when it is conducted through metal. However, under certain conditions and materials, electrons can work like other fluids.

In fact, theorists have predicted for some time that electrons should flow like a tornado. Now, the team of physicists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel are the first people to really observe the flow of electrons in the eddy current.

The team's findings, published in Nature magazine, are said to help produce the next generation of more efficient electronic products.

Leonid Levitov, a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said: "Theoretically, the eddy current of electrons is expected, but without direct evidence, the vision is credible." "Now we have seen that this is a clear sign in this new system. In this new system, electrons behave as fluids instead of individual particles."

Generally, when electrons flow in metals or semiconductors, their paths first depend on impurities and vibrations in the materials.

But when these classical considerations are removed, quantum effects will take over and electrons will begin to influence each other's quantum behaviors. Then, the electrons begin to move collectively and become a sticky honey-like electronic liquid.

This behavior should be obvious in metals with almost no impurities (called "ultra-clean" metals) and temperatures close to absolute zero.

This is not the first time to see liquid-like behavior in electrons. Levitov of Manchester University and his colleagues reported the fluidity characteristics of electronic mobile ink as early as 20 17.

This prompted Levitov to explore other fluid phenomena in electrons. Vortex is the largest vortex. As the author wrote in his paper Nature, "Although there are many theoretical predictions, the formation of vortex and turbulence, the most remarkable and common features of conventional fluid flow, has not been observed in electronic fluids".

Therefore, the research team turned to the monoatomic layer of tungsten telluride (WTe2), an ultra-clean metal compound, where interesting electronic effects can be seen.

Tungsten telluride is a new quantum material, in which electrons interact strongly and behave as quantum waves instead of particles. In addition, the material is very clean, which makes the fluid-like behavior directly accessible.

The team etched the path of the electron side chamber in tungsten telluride and did the same for the gold sheet to compare the flow in the standard metal with the behavior of ordinary electrons. Two samples were cooled to 4.5 degrees Celsius above absolute zero, and the researchers let current pass through them and measured the flow at specific points.

As expected, the electrons in the gold foil will not be reversed, even if they face the side chamber. However, the electrons in tungsten telluride flow through the main channel and rotate to the side chamber, forming a small vortex and then rejoining the central path.

The research team observed that the flow direction of the chamber changed, which was opposite to the flow direction of the central zone. "It is the same as physics in ordinary fluid, but it happens on nano-scale electrons, which is an obvious feature of electrons in fluid state".

In addition to the first direct observation of electron vortices, these findings also provide an opportunity to design low-power devices with small current flow resistance.

We know that when electrons are in a fluid state, the [energy] dissipation will decrease, which is very important for trying to design low-power electronic products.

This new discovery is another step in this direction.

Extended reading:

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