'Quantum Hall-like effect' found in a bulk material without an applied magnetic field

These images collected by Princeton University scientists show (top) the first direct image of the dancing pattern of electrons on the edge of the bismuth-antimony bulk crystal, which is a quantum Hall insulator; (center) a schematic and another image showing the electron distribution in three dimensions; and (bottom) a schematic and an image conveying the distribution of edge-electrons in two dimensions. Images: Zahid Hasan


Scientists discover exotic quantum state of matter

Apr 25, 2008 | User rating: 4.7 / 5 after 80 vote(s)
A team of scientists from Princeton University has found that one of the most intriguing phenomena in condensed-matter physics -- known as the quantum Hall effect -- can occur in nature in a way that no one has ever before seen.