What Makes Graphene So Superconductive and Artistic? Twistronics.
When Magic Is Seen in Twisted Graphene, That’s a Moiré
Excerpts and salient points ~
+ Superconductivity is a state that exhibits quantum behavior macroscopically, allowing electric currents to circulate indefinitely without any resistance whatsoever. This concordance between the visual and the electrical in graphene almost seems to be an example of life imitating art right down to the quantum level. This discovery has sparked an explosion of interest in a new subfield of materials science, which has been dubbed “twistronics.”
The exact reason why specific angles produce the observed quantum effects is an active area of research in graphene twistronics. The answer depends on the details of atomic spacing and complex calculations of electron interaction and quantum tunneling.
+ When a layer of graphene, a sheet of carbon crystal with atoms arranged in a hexagonal one-atom-thick lattice, is dropped on another one and rotated to just the correct angle of about 1.1 degrees, the graphene magically acquires the ability to become superconductive when the requisite number of electrons are added.
Source: Quanta Magazine. Pradeep Mutalik, When Magic Is Seen in Twisted Graphene, That’s a Moiré…
Content may have been edited for style and clarity.
Source: Quanta Magazine. Pradeep Mutalik, When Magic Is Seen in Twisted Graphene, That’s a Moiré…
Content may have been edited for style and clarity.
