Summary
Scientists have discovered semi-Dirac fermions, particles that bizarrely gain or lose mass depending on the direction they travel.
Found in the semi-metal material ZrSiS, these quasiparticles are massless when moving at light speed in one direction but gain mass when slowing down in another, due to resistance within the material’s electronic structure.
This behavior, tied to Einstein’s E=mc², was unexpected and may lead to applications similar to graphene.
Researchers are now studying the unexplained quantum interactions behind this phenomenon, published in Physical Review X.
Surprisingly, I just read it actually does, and quite a few. None revolutionary and eye-catching like everybody hoped, but apparently, most of us has graphene in our smartphones, for example. I don’t remember specifics, I can try to look for the article where I read it, if you want very much.
For me, it’s the phone’s OS!