Scientists have made a satisfying and intriguing physics discovery some 16 years after it was first predicted to be a possibility: a quasiparticle (a group of particles behaving as one) that only has an effective mass when moving in one direction.

tl;dr by ChatGPT:

Scientists have discovered a quasiparticle, the semi-Dirac fermion, which behaves unusually by having mass in one direction but being massless in another. Found in a ZrSiS crystal at extremely low temperatures, this particle challenges conventional physics. Researchers used magneto-optical spectroscopy and strong magnetic fields to observe it. The discovery opens new possibilities in quantum physics and electronics, though many questions remain unanswered.

Deutsch:

Wissenschaftler haben ein Quasiteilchen, das semi-Dirac-Fermion, entdeckt, das in eine Richtung masselos ist, in die andere jedoch Masse hat. Es wurde in einem ZrSiS-Kristall bei extrem niedrigen Temperaturen gefunden. Mithilfe von Magneto-Optischer Spektroskopie und starken Magnetfeldern konnte dieses ungewöhnliche Verhalten beobachtet werden. Die Entdeckung eröffnet neue Möglichkeiten in der Quantenphysik, wirft aber noch viele Fragen auf.

Paper: Semi-Dirac Fermions in a Topological Metal | PDF

  • Mastema@infosec.pub
    6·
    3 days ago

    Regrettably, most of my mass is in a direction I would have to call, “down”…

    (I don’t understand it either, so I’ll be self-deprecating!)

    • 𝕽𝖚𝖆𝖎𝖉𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍
      2·
      3 days ago

      I was thinking about resistance, and energy required to lift things. But that works, too. I think “backwards” is also a good choice.

      I’m studiously ignoring the reply that informed me that the direction is local, not universal, because that’s boring.