Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Physicists Find Solid-State 'Triple Point' In Material That Conducts, Insulates

Posted by Soulskill on from the it-slices-it-dices-it-makes-julienne-fries dept.

vinces99 writes "It is well known to scientists that the three common phases of water – ice, liquid and vapor – can exist stably together only at a particular temperature and pressure, called the triple point. Also well known is that the solid form of many materials can have numerous phases, but it is difficult to pinpoint the temperature and pressure for the points at which three solid phases can coexist stably. Physicists now have made the first-ever accurate determination of a solid-state triple point in a substance called vanadium dioxide, which is known for switching rapidly – in as little as one 10-trillionth of a second – from an electrical insulator to a conductor, and thus could be useful in various technologies. 'These solid-state triple points are fiendishly difficult to study, essentially because the different shapes of the solid phases makes it hard for them to match up happily at their interfaces,' said David Cobden, a University of Washington physics professor who is lead author of a paper about the research published in Nature. 'There are, in theory, many triple points hidden inside a solid, but they are very rarely probed.'"

8 of 35 comments (clear)

  1. A conversation with David Cobden by localman57 · · Score: 3, Funny
    Professor Cobden:

    These solid-state triple points are fiendishly difficult to study, essentially because the different shapes of the solid phases makes it hard for them to match up happily at their interfaces

    Me:

    Oh, yeah. That's pretty cool. So...you..uh...see that new Pacific Rim movie? Those giant robots were pretty awesome, huh?

    1. Re:A conversation with David Cobden by mcgrew · · Score: 2

      LOL, well moderated. The possibilities of what this research will lead to are certainly unimaginable to anybody, even the scientists working on it now.

      This is really some amazing stuff, imagine transistors using the properties they're researching?

      Stories like this and comments like yours (and comments that teach) are why I still come here.

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
  2. Trouble by Russ1642 · · Score: 4, Funny

    We all know about the trouble with triples

  3. Re:Is that 0.1 picoseconds? by Antipater · · Score: 2

    One ten-trillionth is 1x10^-13, so 0.1 picoseconds like GP said. Also backed up by the wiki page on vanadium dioxide.

    --
    Everything is better with chainsaws.
  4. Not so fast... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    as little as one 10-trillionth of a second – from an electrical insulator to a conductor...

    Not as fast as a woman can change her mind, though...

  5. Re:Triple...that would mean 3 phases... by khallow · · Score: 2
    From the article,

    In 1959, researchers at Bell Laboratories discovered vanadium dioxideâ(TM)s ability to rearrange electrons and shift from an insulator to a conductor, called a metal-insulator transition. Twenty years later it was discovered that there are two slightly different insulating phases.

    The new research shows that those two insulating phases and the conducting phase in solid vanadium dioxide can coexist stably at 65 degrees Celsius, give or take a tenth of a degree (65 degrees C is equal to 149 degrees Fahrenheit).

    So three phases and two parameters which vary are temperature and stress on a wire of the material.

  6. 4th state... by Archfeld · · Score: 2

    What about the fourth state : Plasma ??

    --
    errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
    1. Re:4th state... by ooshna · · Score: 3, Funny

      Everyone knows that plasma was made up by Hollywood to keep Ghostbusters scientifically accurate.