Important Facts For Prelims
Bose Metal
- 21 Mar 2025
- 4 min read
Why in News?
A team of researchers from China and Japan has reported experimental evidence that Niobium diselenide (NbSe₂) exhibits properties of a Bose metal.
Niobium Diselenide (NbSe₂)
- NbSe₂ is a type-II superconductor, which means it can let some magnetic field pass through without losing its superconducting ability. Researchers studied a single-layer (2D) form of NbSe₂ to better observe and enhance quantum effects.
What is Bose Metal?
- About: Bose Metal refers to an exotic quantum state where electron pairs (Copper pairs- bound state of two electrons that move through a superconductor without resistance) form but do not transition into a superconducting state.
- Superconductivity is a state of matter where a material exhibits zero electrical resistance and perfect diamagnetism (expels magnetic fields) below a critical temperature (T₀), allowing current to flow indefinitely without energy loss.
- Key Features:
- Absence of Superconducting Transition: In Bose metal, copper pairs form, but the material does not achieve zero resistance, behaving as a better conductor than typical metals.
- Anomalous Metallic State (AMS): It defies conventional predictions that metals should either be insulators or superconductors at low temperatures.
- Intermediate Conductivity: The electrical conductivity of Bose metals lies between an insulator (zero) and a superconductor (infinite) at absolute zero and its conductivity is influenced by quantum fluctuations and external conditions like magnetic fields.
- Applications:
- Quantum Computing Research: Bose metals can help explore novel quantum states, aid in the development of quantum bits (qubits), and can provide insights into complex quantum phases, including disordered metals and unconventional materials.
- Advanced Electronics: Their unique conductive properties can influence the design of next-generation electronic devices, enabling improved performance and energy efficiency.
- Superconductivity Research: As an intermediate phase, Bose metals enhance the understanding of the transition to superconductivity, contributing to the development of high-temperature superconductors.
- Limitations:
- Bose metals face theoretical ambiguities, with no universal definition, and practical applications yet. Their experimental detection is challenging, requiring specific low-temperature and magnetic conditions.
Cooper Pairs:
- The concept was discovered by Leon Cooper in 1956.
- In superconductors, Cooper pairs condense and allow current to flow without resistance, but in a Bose metal, these pairs form yet fail to condense into a superconducting state.
UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Question (PYQ)
Prelims
Q. Which one of the following is the context in which the term "qubit" is mentioned?
(a) Cloud Services
(b) Quantum Computing
(c) Visible Light Communication Technologies
(d) Wireless Communication Technologies
Ans: (b)
