"Researchers call this new type of material a 'corralled supercooled liquid'. Atoms in a liquid are normally like people in a busy crowd, constantly jostling and pushing past one another. However, scientists have now found a way to freeze some of these atoms in place, creating an immobile 'corral' that keeps the mobile liquid atoms trapped inside. Once the liquid is trapped inside a ring, its behaviour becomes different to any known form of matter."
"Corralled atoms can remain liquid even when they are cooled to well below their freezing points. Platinum, for example, can be kept liquid at temperatures as low as 350°C (662°F), more than 1,000°C (1,800°F) colder than normal. Co-author Professor Andrei Khlobystov, of the University of Nottingham, says: 'Our achievement may herald a new form of matter combining characteristics of solids and liquids in the same material.'"
"With the exception of plasma, all of the natural states of matter are produced by how much the molecules and atoms in a material move. When a substance changes between a liquid and a gas, the atoms transition from freely moving around each other to being held in a tight grid. This moment of change is extremely important for industrial applications such as metal production and pharmacy because it determines how crystals form in the resulting solid."
An immobile atomic corral freezes selected atoms, trapping mobile liquid atoms inside a ring to form a corralled supercooled liquid. Corralled atoms remain liquid at temperatures well below normal freezing points; platinum can stay liquid down to about 350°C (662°F), over 1,000°C colder than usual. The trapped liquid exhibits behavior unlike any known form of matter, combining characteristics of solids and liquids. Electron scanning microscopy of molten metal nanoparticles on an atomically thin graphene support enabled observation of individual atomic motion during melting. Graphene acted as a heating substrate while melted particles showed rapid atomic movement within the corral.
Read at Mail Online
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