2016 Nobel Prize in Physics and the mystery of strange materials

Put some ice cubes on a hot pan on the stove, within a few minutes, you will observe the three most common states of matter: solid, liquid, gas. But at a particular limitation of nature, as when reaching close to the absolute zero (−273 ° C), these states will enter a new period of extraordinary strangeness. Scientists who won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics helped humankind understand such things. They "opened the door to another world, where matter can turn to unusual states".

Three British scientists David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz , now living in the United States, have become owners of the 2016 Nobel Prize for Physics announced yesterday (October 4). David Thouless won half of the award, while Duc Haldane and Michale Kosterlitz shared half the remaining prizes.

Discover the strange properties of material

Three scientists won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics (from left to right) David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz.

The trio of scientists used the topology geometry , a branch of mathematics, to explain the bizarre states of matter such as superconductivity and superfluidity at low temperatures.

Topology or topology learning in Greek is topologia, including topos (meaning "place" ) and logos (research), a mathematical discipline that studies the constant properties of matter through deformation, twisting and stretching but excluding tearing and sticking. Topological geometry describes the shape and structure of matter with basic characteristics such as the number of holes. This math branch does not distinguish a cup or a ring, they are the same because there is only one hole, but different from the twist cake because it has 2 holes.

Under normal conditions, the material consists of three types: gas, liquid and solid. However, in extremely hot or extremely cold conditions, material deforms into more rare states. The research of the scientists this time is to use topology to explain these mysterious distortions .

Old theories suggest that superconducting and superfluid conditions cannot happen in thin layers. But in the early 1970s, Kosterlitz and Thouless overturned these theories.

They used 3-shape cakes, including cubes (without holes), round cakes (1 hole) and twist cakes (2 holes) to explain their research, and in fact discovered reactions. Unexpected response to the state of solids.

In the 1980s, Thouless explained an earlier experiment with thin conductive membranes, in which conductivity was measured exactly as raw distances. He shows that these gaps are topological in nature. At the same time, scientist Duncan Haldance discovered how topological concepts can be used to understand the properties of small magnets found in some materials.

Topological geometry describes the shape and structure of matter with basic characteristics such as the number of holes.For example, the glasses have 2 holes, the cup has 1 hole, the cake has 3 holes.

Three scientists have demonstrated that superconductivity can occur at low temperatures, when quantum effects occur, and explain the transition mechanism that causes superconductivity to disappear at high temperatures.

Step forward for humanity

Scientists who won the Nobel Prize for Physics this year have demonstrated that many materials in reality can be characterized by the mathematical principle of topological geometry. In other words, with their studies, we now know a lot of topological states, not only in thin films and fibers but in conventional three-dimensional materials.

In the past decade, this field has promoted advanced research in condensed matter physics. In the future, topological materials may be a prerequisite for new generation of electronics, including quantum computers, as well as paving the way for the production of entirely new materials, for example. superconducting