Peng Chen

Ordinary computer memory constantly consumes energy to avoid forgetting what's stored. A superconductor could store data without loss, but it's hard to make it switch. In the new work, a superconductor is sandwiched between two magnetic insulators.

A single-atom-thick sheet of tungsten telluride is like thin foil: electrons can't pass through because there's a band gap between their possible states, like a moat you can't jump across. Add two more layers, and the moat disappears; the material becomes a metal, and current flows. Add more layers, and the properties change again, as if someone is flipping modes with a single button.

Tomographs don't produce ready-made pictures. They collect numerous 'shadows' — projections of innards from different angles or using various signals — and mathematically reconstruct a 3D picture from them.

An orchestra of a hundred musicians plays without a conductor. Every instrument is tuned perfectly, but one violin goes slightly off, and the harmony falls apart.