Metallic hydrogen, once theory, becomes reality
Nearly a century after it was theorized, Harvard scientists have succeeded in creating the rarest - and potentially one of the most valuable - materials on the planet
The material - atomic metallic hydrogen - was created by Thomas D. Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences Isaac Silvera and post-doctoral fellow Ranga Dias. In addition to helping scientists answer fundamental questions about the nature of matter, the material is theorized to have a wide range of applications, including as a room-temperature superconductor.
The creation of the rare material is described in a January 26 paper published in Science.
"This is the holy grail of high-pressure physics," Silvera said. "It's the first-ever sample of metallic hydrogen on Earth, so when you're looking at it, you're looking at something that's never existed before."
To create it, Silvera and Dias squeezed a tiny hydrogen sample at 495 gigapascal, or more than 71.7 million pounds-per-square inch - greater than the pressure at the center of the Earth. At those extreme pressures, Silvera explained, solid molecular hydrogen -which consists of molecules on the lattice sites of the solid - breaks down, and the tightly bound molecules dissociate to transforms into atomic hydrogen, which is a metal.
Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qitm5fteL0
PR:
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/01/a-breakthrough-in-high-pressure-physics/
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-01-metallic-hydrogen-theory-reality.html#jCp
#physics #research #metallichydrogen #science
wow.. could be used as fuel rods to be a safer alternative to nuclear?
ReplyDeleteIt turns out their experiment was neither confirmed, nor reproduced. It's not even proven that the reflecting material was metallic hydrogen. German science community already wonders about the rapid 'publication of a hope'. Furthermore the theory goes back to the mid 30's of the 20th century.
ReplyDeleteSources (German):
[1] An article that describes both, theoretical background and experiment, in addition to the scientist's interpretation of the result. The article had to be altered within one day of the uncertainty coming to light.
spektrum.de - Extremer Aggregatzustand: Wasserstoff wird wirklich metallisch
[2] A critic gives insight to the emerging rumours related to result, behaviour and publication.
http://www.spektrum.de/news/wasserstoff-wird-wirklich-metallisch/1436518
Right, for an extra opinion you can read SA article which is sort of impartial. But no matter what, for now I'm gonna give credit to the Harvard scientists.
ReplyDeletescientificamerican.com - Doubts Cloud Claims of Metallic Hydrogen
There is no reason to hurry give credit to someone. The timing does not matter. They will get their recognition after the results are confirmed and reproduced.
ReplyDelete