• Question: what are the four states of matter that you have discovered??

    Asked by Lucy to Steven on 15 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Steven Thomson

      Steven Thomson answered on 15 Jun 2015:


      I study strange electronic quantum states of matter, so they’re probably not ones you’ve heard of yet! There are hundreds of these quantum states of matter – strange things like superfluids, superconductors, Bose-Einstein condensates and spiral magnets. Most researchers in my field will discover a lot more than four during their careers! The ones I’ve worked on are called ‘glasses’, but they’re not like normal window glass – they’re actually really cool types of magnets with named like the helical glass and the Bose glass!

Comments