• Question: What interesting things have you discovered?

    Asked by :: to Steven, Connor, Jillian, Lidunka, Sarah on 15 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by cheese, 568frcc35, wolf spirit ( Ox0), Ashleigh M, dani<3.
    • Photo: Steven Thomson

      Steven Thomson answered on 15 Jun 2015:


      I’ve discovered quite a few things that I find interesting, but my favourites are the predictions I’ve made for new quantum states of matter. I’ve done some maths that predicts that at very low temperatures (-270C or so) some magnets reconfigure themselves into things called ‘spiral magnets’, and I’ve done some similar work on what happens to superfluids when you add random impurities. In this case, all kinds of interesting new phases of matter emerge that only exist at these incredibly low temperatures and do all sorts of strange things.

      It’s important to understand these because these low temperature experiments teach us things about quantum mechanics that we can use to design better materials and technologies of the future!

    • Photo: Lidunka Vocadlo

      Lidunka Vocadlo answered on 15 Jun 2015:


      All my interesting stuff is to do with iron, the major component of planetary cores. I’ve discovered how the atoms are arranged in the crystals of iron at Earth’s core conditions, and also found out that peculiar things happen to the properties of iron at high pressures and temperatures. All very exciting if you want to understand the evolution of planets!!!

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