Niocorp Developments Ltd (NB)

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Douginil, Chico, KaseyMO, all; Article; "Scientists Created a New Kind of Metal Where Electrons Flow Like a Fluid"

(Not sure if this was previously posted.If so, its getting posted again.)

"In metals, electrons are normally expected to be diffusive in their movement, operating as individual particles – in other words, they don't gain momentum as a group.

In a new study, scientists have now discovered a type of metal where electrons actually do flow in a fluid-like way – like water in a pipe – by interacting with quasiparticles called phonons, which emerge from vibrations in a crystal structure.

This causes the electrons to shift from diffusive (particle-like) to hydrodynamic (fluid-like) behavior in their movement."

The metal superconductor that causes this behavior is a synthesis of niobium and germanium called ditetrelide (NbGe2), the research team reports. Potentially, it could give rise to a new type of electronic device.

"We wanted to test a recent prediction of the 'electron-phonon fluid'," says experimental physicist Fazel Tafti from Boston College.

"Typically, electrons are scattered by phonons which leads to the usual diffusive motion of electrons in metals. A new theory shows that when electrons strongly interact with phonons, they will form a united electron-phonon liquid. This novel liquid will flow inside the metal exactly in the same way as water flows in a pipe."


I do not think that a novel semiconductor will require large amounts of Niobium, like a steel bridge unless there were some way to use it to generate electricity from a temperature gradient or sunlight or perhaps from motion generated static electricity THEN it might be an important development. These things take a lot of dithering in a lab and finding investors to sponsor product development...Well, we know all about that.)


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonon

For more info on phonons. (condensate physics is a bit of a slide and a bit above my college level physics.)


(Doug...did I miss it and were phonons generated by the collapse of ATT? Never mind. Bad joke. Wonder if this would have a better chance of being developed if it went to a lab in Illinois, U.Ill Champaign, Batavia, TelLabs, etc.)