Spin waves revealed in two-dimensional high-temperature superconductors Date: Tuesday, September 04, 2012 @ 21:54:57 GMT Topic: Science
(Phys.org)—As electricity travels from power plants and into homes, a large amount of the initial energy dissipates as heat along the way. This inefficiency comes from a resistance to current inherent to the metallic cables used to deliver the electricity. High-temperature superconductors, however, manage to transmit energy without loss, providing a potential conduit for efficient and inexpensive power distribution all over the globe. Unfortunately, the mechanism underlying these remarkable materials remains unknown, hampering the development of more advanced materials to provide that loss-free flow of electricity.
Now, physicists working at
the Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and
Switzerland's Paul Scherrer Institute have revealed key quantum
characteristics of high-temperature superconductors, demonstrating new
experimental methods and breaking fundamental ground on these mysterious
materials. Using a technique called resonant inelastic x-ray scattering
(RIXS), scientists examined the magnetic spins of atomically thin
layers of copper oxide materials. In a surprising discovery published in
the journal Nature Materials on Sept. 2, researchers found that the
spin waves present in complete, three-dimensional samples survived all
the way down to the atomic level.
(Phys.org)—As electricity travels from power plants and into homes, a large amount of the initial energy dissipates as heat along the way. This inefficiency comes from a resistance to current inherent to the metallic cables used to deliver the electricity. High-temperature superconductors, however, manage to transmit energy without loss, providing a potential conduit for efficient and inexpensive power distribution all over the globe. Unfortunately, the mechanism underlying these remarkable materials remains unknown, hampering the development of more advanced materials to provide that loss-free flow of electricity.