Solids That Flow Like Liquid...

Physics Review Focus - Supersolid, with a Twist

A series of neutron scattering experiments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and other research centers is exploring the key question about a long-sought quantum state of matter called supersolidity: Does it exist?

"The goal of our experiments is to find this new quantum state of supersolidity. This is a challenge for theory as well as experiment," says principal investigator Hans Lauter of ORNL. "The superfluid transition we have observed in solid helium may lead to supersolid helium as a new quantum state."

Whether there's such a thing as supersolidity isn't an issue apt to cause much of a stir outside the physics community. But in the world of condensed matter physics, discovering a new quantum state would be like sighting a new species would be for a biologist, or a new star for an astronomer.

Research and Development Magazine: Searching for a solid that flows like a liquid