They can theoretically carry charge 1,000 times faster than ordinary electrons.
After 85 years of searching, researchers have confirmed the existence of a massless particle called the Weyl fermion for the first time ever. With the unique ability to behave as both matter and anti-matter inside a crystal, this strange particle can create electrons that have no mass.

The discovery is huge, not just because we finally have proof that these elusive particles exist, but because it paves the way for far more efficient electronics, and new types of quantum computing. “Weyl fermions could be used to solve the traffic jams that you get with electrons in electronics – they can move in a much more efficient, ordered way than electrons,” lead researcher and physicist M. Zahid Hasan from Princeton University in the US told Anthony Cuthbertson over at IBTimes. “They could lead to a new type of electronics we call ‘Weyltronics’.”

So what exactly is a Weyl fermion? Although we’re often taught in high school science that the Universe is made up of atoms, from a particle physics point of view, everything is actually made up of fermions and bosons. Put very simply, fermions are the building blocks that make up all matter, such as electrons, and bosons are the things that carry force, such as photons.

Electrons are the backbone of today’s electronics, and while they carry charge pretty well, they also have the tendency to bounce into each other and scatter, losing energy and producing heat. But back in 1929, a German physicist called Hermann Weyl theorised that a massless fermion must exist, that could carry charge far more efficiently than regular electrons.

Weyl cool.

Spiny Norman said:

They can theoretically carry charge 1,000 times faster than ordinary electrons.
After 85 years of searching, researchers have confirmed the existence of a massless particle called the Weyl fermion for the first time ever. With the unique ability to behave as both matter and anti-matter inside a crystal, this strange particle can create electrons that have no mass.

The discovery is huge, not just because we finally have proof that these elusive particles exist, but because it paves the way for far more efficient electronics, and new types of quantum computing. “Weyl fermions could be used to solve the traffic jams that you get with electrons in electronics – they can move in a much more efficient, ordered way than electrons,” lead researcher and physicist M. Zahid Hasan from Princeton University in the US told Anthony Cuthbertson over at IBTimes. “They could lead to a new type of electronics we call ‘Weyltronics’.”

So what exactly is a Weyl fermion? Although we’re often taught in high school science that the Universe is made up of atoms, from a particle physics point of view, everything is actually made up of fermions and bosons. Put very simply, fermions are the building blocks that make up all matter, such as electrons, and bosons are the things that carry force, such as photons.

Electrons are the backbone of today’s electronics, and while they carry charge pretty well, they also have the tendency to bounce into each other and scatter, losing energy and producing heat. But back in 1929, a German physicist called Hermann Weyl theorised that a massless fermion must exist, that could carry charge far more efficiently than regular electrons.

Weyl cool.

In fact he was a very fart smeller.

Spiny Norman said:

They can theoretically carry charge 1,000 times faster than ordinary electrons.
After 85 years of searching, researchers have confirmed the existence of a massless particle called the Weyl fermion for the first time ever. With the unique ability to behave as both matter and anti-matter inside a crystal, this strange particle can create electrons that have no mass.

The discovery is huge, not just because we finally have proof that these elusive particles exist, but because it paves the way for far more efficient electronics, and new types of quantum computing. “Weyl fermions could be used to solve the traffic jams that you get with electrons in electronics – they can move in a much more efficient, ordered way than electrons,” lead researcher and physicist M. Zahid Hasan from Princeton University in the US told Anthony Cuthbertson over at IBTimes. “They could lead to a new type of electronics we call ‘Weyltronics’.”

So what exactly is a Weyl fermion? Although we’re often taught in high school science that the Universe is made up of atoms, from a particle physics point of view, everything is actually made up of fermions and bosons. Put very simply, fermions are the building blocks that make up all matter, such as electrons, and bosons are the things that carry force, such as photons.

Electrons are the backbone of today’s electronics, and while they carry charge pretty well, they also have the tendency to bounce into each other and scatter, losing energy and producing heat. But back in 1929, a German physicist called Hermann Weyl theorised that a massless fermion must exist, that could carry charge far more efficiently than regular electrons.

Weyl cool.

Awesome.

Checks date. Not April.

Re massless particles. Interestingly, the scifi book I was just reading considered the physics of a massless black hole. ie. a naked singularity with spin angular momentum and charge but no mass.

Weyl fermions are quasiparticles. The following is a reduced list of other better-known quasiparticles, from wikipedia

. An electron quasiparticle is an electron as affected by the other forces and interactions in the solid. Its mass differs substantially from that of a normal electron

. A hole is a quasiparticle consisting of the lack of an electron in a state. A hole has the opposite charge of an electron.

. A phonon is a collective excitation associated with the vibration of atoms in a rigid crystal structure. It is a quantum of a sound wave.

. A magnon is a collective excitation associated with the electrons’ spin structure in a crystal lattice. It is a quantum of a spin wave.

. A roton is a collective excitation associated with the rotation of a superfluid. It is a quantum of a vortex.

. A photon quasiparticle is a photon as affected by the material’s index of refraction.

. A plasmon is a collective excitation, which is the quantum of plasma oscillations.

. A polaron is a quasiparticle which comes about when an electron interacts with the polarization of its surrounding ions.

. An exciton is an electron and hole bound together.

. Particles with fractional charge observed in the Hall effect.

. A broken Cooper pair in superconductors is called a Bogoliubov quasiparticle.

. A Majorana fermion is a particle which equals its own antiparticle, and can emerge as a quasiparticle in certain superconductors.

. Magnetic monopoles arise in condensed matter systems such as spin ice and carry an effective magnetic charge.

Are there any other particles to discover?

CrazyNeutrino said:

Are there any other particles to discover?

Yes quite a few

Well I’ll be fucked

Fuck me

What the fuck

Holy snappin fuckin duck shit

To name just a few.

bob(from black rock) said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

Are there any other particles to discover?

Yes quite a few

Well I’ll be fucked

Fuck me

What the fuck

Holy snappin fuckin duck shit

To name just a few.

Then there is the biggy “Jesus Christ God fuck me dead hooray cunt” we may never find this in my life time.

bob(from black rock) said:

bob(from black rock) said:

CrazyNeutrino said:

Are there any other particles to discover?

Yes quite a few

Well I’ll be fucked

Fuck me

What the fuck

Holy snappin fuckin duck shit

To name just a few.

Then there is the biggy “Jesus Christ God fuck me dead hooray cunt” we may never find this in my life time.

Naah got that one here just the other day. No Duck-A-Ducks Flying-Duck-Fucks so the collection isn’t complete yet.

Although this is interesting, the Subject line is a bit misleading. Scientists discovered massless particles a century ago.

dv said:

Although this is interesting, the Subject line is a bit misleading. Scientists discovered massless particles a century ago.

But these are “more” massless particles because they can carry charge?

Postpocelipse said:

dv said:

Although this is interesting, the Subject line is a bit misleading. Scientists discovered massless particles a century ago.

But these are “more” massless particles because they can carry charge?

Not sure how they can be “more” massless…

dv said:

Postpocelipse said:

dv said:

Although this is interesting, the Subject line is a bit misleading. Scientists discovered massless particles a century ago.

But these are “more” massless particles because they can carry charge?

Not sure how they can be “more” massless…

Would require a negative mass value for that I guess.

dv said:

Postpocelipse said:

dv said:

Although this is interesting, the Subject line is a bit misleading. Scientists discovered massless particles a century ago.

But these are “more” massless particles because they can carry charge?

Not sure how they can be “more” massless…

Perhaps they have negative mass?

From what I can figure out, the Weyl Fermion is very similar to a Cooper Pair. A Cooper Pair transfers charge very quickly and is made up of a pair of electrons. So also, if I understand correctly, is a Weyl Fermion. The difference is that a Cooper Pair works in superconductors whereas a Weyl Fermion works in semiconductors.