When subjected to a strong magnetic field, a two-dimensional system of electrons can form a crystal structure called a Wigner solid. Scientists have made disordered Wigner solids but have struggled to produce ordered ones. Now Pranav Madathil at Princeton University and his colleagues have overcome this hurdle, demonstrating that they can create and study an ordered Wigner solid using an ultra-high-quality electron system [1]. The team says that the system could be used to test and improve theoretical models of such crystals.
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