Superconductor Research Points To New Phase of Matter 59
unil_1005 writes "Scientists have found the strongest evidence yet that a puzzling gap in the electronic structures of some high-temperature superconductors could indicate a new phase of matter. Understanding this 'pseudogap' has been a 20-year quest for researchers who are trying to control and improve these breakthrough materials, with the ultimate goal of finding superconductors that operate at room temperature. 'Our findings point to management and control of this other phase as the correct path toward optimizing these novel superconductors for energy applications, as well as searching for new superconductors,' said Zhi-Xun Shen of the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science."
Re:4th? How about 6th? Or 7th? (Score:5, Informative)
Plasma is the fourth "common" phase of matter.
Bose-Einstein condensates and other novel phase are also phases, but aren't exhibited in all materials.
For that matter, most solids, particularly crystalline solids, have many different phases that correspond to different crystalline structures.
Also, "liquid" and "gas" aren't always distinct phases.