Demon Particle

• 25 Aug 2023

Source: BS

Why in News?

Recently, a team of researchers from the University of Illinois discovered a unique particle, known as a "demon particle," within a metal called strontium ruthenate. This discovery has the potential to pave the way for the development of superconductors capable of operating at room temperature.

What is a Demon Particle?

• The demon particle is a name given to a type of quasiparticle, which is not a real particle, but rather a collective excitation or vibration of many electrons in a solid.
  • Quasiparticles are useful for describing the complex behavior of electrons in solids, such as metals and semiconductors.
• The demon particle was first predicted by theoretical physicist David Pines in 1956.
  • He believed that electrons would behave strangely when passed through a solid. Electric interactions make electrons combine to form collective units. This can make them lose individuality in solids.
    • However, with such a large mass, plasmons (collective oscillation of conduction electrons in metals) cannot form with energies available at room temperature.
  • However, demons do not contain mass, they can form with any energy and at room temperature as well.
• The demon particle could have many applications in computing, medical imaging, transportation, and energy.

Superconductors

• About:
  • A superconductor is a material that can conduct electricity or transport electrons from one atom to another with no resistance.
  • No heat, sound or any other form of energy would be released from the material when it has reached critical temperature (Tc), or the temperature at which the material becomes superconductive.
    • The critical temperature for superconductors is the temperature at which the electrical resistivity of metal drops to zero.
  • Superconductors also exhibit the Meissner effect, which is the expulsion of a magnetic field from the interior of a material during the process of becoming a superconductor.
• Examples: Aluminium, niobium, magnesium diboride, etc.
• Applications:
  • Superconductors are used in operations such as levitating trains and highly accurate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.
• Limitations:
  • Their usefulness is still limited by the need for bulky cryogenics (production of and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures) as the common superconductors work at atmospheric pressures, but only if they are kept very cold.
    • Even the most sophisticated ones like copper oxide-based ceramic materials work only below −140°C.