NIST/Univ. Of CO Scientists Create New Form Of Matter: A Fermion

Source: National Institute Of Standards And Technology
Date:
2004-01-29

NIST/University Of Colorado Scientists Create New Form Of Matter: A Fermionic Condensate
Scientists at JILA, a joint laboratory of the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder) report the first observation of a "fermionic condensate" formed from pairs of atoms in a gas, a long-sought, novel form of matter. Physicists hope that further research with such condensates eventually will help unlock the mysteries of high-temperature superconductivity, a phenomenon with the potential to improve energy efficiency dramatically across a broad range of applications.

The research is described in a paper to be published in the Jan. 24-30 online edition of Physical Review Letters by JILA authors Deborah S. Jin, a physicist at NIST and an adjoint associate professor at CU-Boulder, and Markus Greiner and Cindy Regal, a post-doctoral researcher and graduate student at CU-Boulder. (Expected publication date is Jan. 28, 2004.)

"The strength of pairing in our fermionic condensate, adjusted for mass and density," Jin explains, "would correspond to a room temperature superconductor. This makes me optimistic that the fundamental physics we learn through fermionic condensates will eventually help others design more practical superconducting materials."


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/01/040129073547.htm

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which is a new state of matter, not a particle. Creating fermion particles themselves is not a big deal because they're everywhere - protons, neutrons, and electrons that make up atoms are all fermions.