Magnetic field switches on superconductivity in graphene
Superconductors usually don't get along with magnets: a strong field destroys the state in which current flows without resistance. But in thin layers of carbon, things are different.
Electrons Freeze into a Pattern
In an ultrathin sheet of four-layer graphene, electrons can behave like a frozen liquid. When cooled strongly and subjected to an electric field, they stop darting around and line up into a regular pattern — a Wigner crystal. It's similar to how water droplets on a frosty morning turn into ice honeycombs.
Magnetic Patterns in Graphene
Graphene, a sheet of carbon just one atom thick, can change its magnetic properties the way water changes shape: sometimes flowing, sometimes freezing into ice. In a new study, physicists peered inside this process for the first time using a sensor the size of a needle tip.