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We've seen particles that are massless only when moving one direction (www.newscientist.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by Espiritdescali to c/futurology

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[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The particles are "semi-Dirac fermions":

Instead of moving forwards in a kind of river of electric current, [the electrons] began to trace out circular trajectories, like eddies in that river. And because they were so cold, they were also susceptible to quantum effects, meaning each acted like a wave that self-reinforced as it flowed around the eddy. These behaviours caused the semi-Dirac fermions to emerge.

Not exactly sure what a "semi-Dirac fermion" is, but it seems like another case of electrons doing weird sh*t at low temperatures.

[–] mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 weeks ago

The best part is knowing how, once we figure out what the hell is going on below the level we're seeing, the explanation's going to be even fucking weirder than what we're seeing. If it made sense we'd have got it by now.