(Phys.org) -- Strange new materials experimentally identified just a few years ago are now driving research in condensed-matter physics around the world. First theorized and then discovered by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and their colleagues in other institutions, these strong 3-D topological insulators TIs for short are seemingly mundane semiconductors with startling properties. For starters, picture a good insulator on the inside thats a good conductor on its surface something like a copper-coated bowling ball.
Read More »