Super special metal can remember its own liquid properties

The researchers surveyed the bismuth metal and found a totally surprising feature for everyone that under certain conditions, this solid metal could exist in the form of structure but only exists under liquid state.

The fact is that in addition to finding a new property of the metal, this also means that solid bismuth can shift from being pushed by a magnetic field (diamagnetic) to being attracted to a magnetic field (ferromagnetic), and this can lead to a whole new way to create new materials of unique nature.

In the existential forms of matter such as liquids, gases and snakes, they are all determined by the structural arrangement of molecules and depend on external conditions. For example, the process of freezing, melting and evaporating water.

But bismuth is one of the simplest elements . They are often found in solid form, but under increasing pressure and temperature conditions, can go through a transition period with broad and prolonged promo. Scientists have observed eight different solid phases of this metal so far.

Bismuth (Bi) is a very special element.

One of the most interesting properties of bismuth is that when it exists in solid form it will be repelled, thanks to a phenomenon known as diamagnetism , but under high pressure and high temperature - often coincides with the conditions under existence. Liquid-metal state can become ferromagnetic.

Because of this bizarre nature, scientists used bismuth to perform many important experiments on the effect of magnetic fields on electrical conductivity (usually because bismuth is an extremely weak conductor). And now we find another strange property of this metal - it seems that it has the ability to retain the "remembering structure" of the liquid phase, even if it exists in the form of solids.

The "memorization" and restoration of the original structure in metal is not new - it is possible to build alloys that can restore the original shape and structure when applied by a certain temperature and pressure. These alloys have a separate arrangement that makes them always recover when heated or cooled to a certain temperature. But this recovery always takes place in a solid state - metals do not jump between different phases.

In this study, researchers from the Carnegie Institute of Science performed on liquid state bismuth at an amazingly large pressure (14,000 to 24,000 times the normal atmospheric pressure), and a temperature of about 1,250. Kelvin (977 degrees C, or 1,800 degrees F). When cooling bismuth slowly back to solid state, they found that solid bismuth "remembers" some structures in its liquid form. This does not mean that bismuth converts back to a pre-existing liquid form, but it has memorized the iron properties from a liquid state that is attracted to a magnetic field, rather than being pushed as usual. .

Liquid bismuth has a ferromagnetic properties.

"The liquid under high pressure and high temperature causes the molecular structure to be chaotic, which brings the liquid to a deep form of existence and makes the liquid phase of bismuth to be" remembered "after cooling. " Hardy, " said Guoyin Shen, one of the researchers.

"This is the first time such an effect is observed in a metallic element."

Until now the team is still not entirely sure how this memory structure is stored in bismuth, or how solid bismuth is capable of acting as a ferromagnet, instead of being repelled. Magnets as usual.

"The physical origin of this phenomenon is really surprising and requires additional research," the team published in PNAS.

But at the same time, the group thinks that this novel property may also cause a similar change in other elements, such as cerium, antimony, and plutonium. And if this is investigated further, it could lead to a whole new way to create elements of special untapped nature.