Explanation of Key Scientific Topics |
Other topics:
Emergence |
![]() CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICSMost of the matter in the universe (except possibly the mysterious 'dark matter') is in a 'condensed' form, ie., collected together into assemblies of many 'elementary particles'. Condensed matter can exist in solid or liquid form, or as a 'plasma' of charged particles, or in more exotic forms like superfluids or superconductors- these latter are examples of 'quantum liquids'. We are surrounded by condensed matter- (indeed we ourselves are condensed matter); everything you can see, from flowers and clouds to distant stars and galaxies, is condensed matter. Most of it is in a highly structured form, despite the simplicity of the interactions between the building blocks (electrons, protons, atoms, molecules, etc.).
In recent years condensed matter physicists have been much concerned with inventing radically new structures, not existing in Nature. Some of this activity is now labelled as 'nanoscience', with speculations about new kinds of 'quantum device' very much in the air. |
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Pacific Institute for Theoretical
Physics University of British Columbia Hennings Building, 6224 Agricultural Road Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada |