In 1956, physicist David Pines theorized the existence of a massless, neutral plasmon called a \u201cdemon\u201d that could help explain the superconductivity of some exotic materials.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Now, scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champlain have found evidence of this theorized demon in the metal strontium ruthenate.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Because this demon likely exists at room temperatures, this discovery could help scientists better understand high-temperature superconductors.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Condensed matter physicists from the University of Illinois have successfully summoned a demon, but probably not the one you\u2019re picturing\u2014think less fire<\/a> and brimstone and more quantum<\/a> mechanics trickery. The \u201cdemon,\u201d in this case, actually stands for \u201cdistinct electron motion\u201d with the physics favorite suffix \u201c-on\u201d added for good measure.<\/p>\n Theorized by physicist David Pines in 1956, this demon (also known as Pine\u2019s Demon) is a plasmon\u2014a discrete wave rippling through plasma electrons<\/a>\u2014that is massless and has a neutral charge. As you\u2019d probably imagine, something that\u2019s both massless and neutral isn\u2019t exactly easy to detect.<\/p>\n But a paper<\/a> published by scientists at the University of Illinois showcases how they stumbled upon this demon plasmon by accident. At first, the team was only analyzing the metal strontium ruthenate to figure out why it contained similar properties to high-temperature superconductors (around -130 degrees Celsius) without actually being one. Then, they spotted a quasiparticle that was too slow<\/a> to be a surface plasmon but too fast to be an acoustic<\/a> phonon.<\/p>\n \u201cAt first, we had no idea what it was. Demons are not in the mainstream. The possibility came up early on, and we basically laughed it off,\u201d co-author Ali Husain said in a press statement<\/a>. \u201cBut, as we started ruling things out, we started to suspect that we had really found the demon.\u201d<\/p>\n To find the demon, the team fired electrons off a crystal of the metal strontium ruthenate and measured energy<\/a> gain with an incredibly high precision. Using this energy data, scientists could then track the demon\u2019s momentum within the material until finally discovering that the quasiparticle closely matched Pine\u2019s 67-year-old predictions of a massless electronic mode, or demon. The results were published in the journal Nature<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt speaks to the importance of just measuring stuff,\u201d Peter Abbamonte, physics professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champlain and co-author, said in a press statement. \u201cMost big discoveries are not planned. You go look somewhere new and see what\u2019s there.\u201d<\/p>\n The discovery of a demon is particularly important for understanding superconductors<\/a>. Because this quasiparticle is massless, it can form with any energy and potentially at any temperature.<\/p>\n The standard theory of superconductors, known as the BCS theory<\/a>, attributes superconductivity to an interaction between electrons and phonons, the natural vibrations given off by an atomic crystal<\/a> lattice. However, the BCS Theory can\u2019t always explain the zero energy resistance of high-temperature superconductors, which suggests some materials achieve superconductivity through other means. One of these means could be this newly discovered demon quasiparticle, as they\u2019ve been theorized to play a role in a semimetal\u2019s transition into superconductivity.<\/p>\n The first step in any breakthrough is to first face your demons<\/a>\u2014hopefully, the same can be said for superconductors as well.<\/p>\n Photo credit: Hearst Owned<\/p>\n Get the Issue<\/a><\/p>\n Photo credit: Hearst Owned<\/p>\n Get the Issue<\/a><\/p>\n Photo credit: Hearst Owned<\/p>\n Get the Issue<\/a><\/p>\n Photo credit: Hearst Owned<\/p>\n Get the Issue<\/a><\/p>\n Photo credit: Hearst Owned<\/p>\n Get the Issue<\/a><\/p>\n Photo credit: Hearst Owned<\/p>\n Get the Issue<\/a><\/p>\n Photo credit: Hearst Owned<\/p>\n Get the Issue<\/a><\/p>\n Photo credit: Hearst Owned<\/p>\n Get the Issue<\/a><\/p>\n Photo credit: Hearst Owned<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ac3e01872aefc7ef7678324dedd5baab.jpeg\"\/)
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