Physicists discover a fundamental limit to Electrical Resistance
Article excerpt
A quantum simulation found a ceiling on resistivity caused by electron collisions. Every time electricity flows through a wire, some of its energy is inevitably lost as heat because electrons collide with one another and with the material around them. But just how much can these collisions increase electrical resistance? A new study suggests there […]
A quantum simulation found a ceiling on resistivity caused by electron collisions.
Every time electricity flows through a wire, some of its energy is inevitably lost as heat because electrons collide with one another and with the material around them. But just how much can these collisions increase electrical resistance? A new study suggests there is a fundamental limit.
To investigate, researchers from the University of Toronto, L’École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and Lehigh University turned to an unusual stand-in for electrons: ultracold potassium atoms cooled to temperatures just above absolute zero.
By precisely controlling how often the atoms collided, they found that resistance increased only up to a certain point before leveling off. The discovery provides rare experimental evidence for a microscopic limit to resistivity and could improve scientists’ understanding of electron behavior in quantum materials.
“Our results provide a clear microscopic understanding of how resistivity works in low-density metals and open the door to new studies of strongly correlated atomic systems and quantum materials.”
Read more at SciTechDaily.