CONDENSED matter is the largest field in physics, employing a third of all researchers. So why is it almost unknown to the wider public? Essentially, for two reasons: it is familiar and it is practical. Neither property is compatible with the sense of magic that draws the public to science, apparent in topics such as black holes or the recent discovery of 鈥渢he hat鈥�, a shape that tiles only 鈥渁periodically鈥�. But the familiar and practical are inherently magical 鈥� theirs is just a more subtle magic. Learning to appreciate it could popularise the subject and draw in a diverse set of condensed matter physicists for the next generation.
Let us define magic as the ability of nature to inspire. Well-known fields of science have undeniable magic to them. Black holes are magical and recent images of them have inspired people around the world. The hat is a piece of mathematical magic: sought for decades, it was eventually found to be a remarkably simple 13-sided polygon. But can we be so inspired by the familiar and the practical?
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Between the unfathomably large and the unimaginably small lies the world of our everyday experience. Its study is condensed matter physics, which investigates matter and how it emerges from the quantum world of atoms and molecules. It is inherently practical: from computers to phones to energy-efficient lighting, we developed modern technology by understanding its constituent matter. But practicality and familiarity limit public excitement about matter.
Perhaps the most magical aspect of condensed matter physics is how it explains our world in terms of the quantum realm. For example, identical molecules at 0掳C (32掳F) form liquid water or solid ice. The difference is familiar: dipping your finger in the ocean is easy, but moving an iceberg with the same finger is impossible. The iceberg performs this magic by having its atoms behave collectively: try to push a single molecule of H2O and the others resist the push together. This is because their oxygen atoms are locked into a regular, periodic structure 鈥� a crystal. A crystal is more than just its atoms: it is the ordered structure they form.
Could there exist some exotic matter in which the atoms appear not periodically, as in crystals such as ice, but aperiodically, as in the tiling of 鈥渢he hat鈥�? A few decades after the discovery of the first (multi-tile) aperiodic tiling, a new state of matter was found whose atoms matched the pattern. It was dubbed a 鈥渜耻补蝉颈肠谤测蝉迟补濒鈥�. Only three naturally occurring examples have ever been found, all in the same Siberian meteorite. Their aperiodic nature grants quasicrystals some remarkable properties, which have led to proposals for practical uses.
Regardless of practicality, the scientist must always be part magician. Popularising science isn鈥檛 a matter of teaching 鈥� it is a matter of inspiring. Black holes have this power in abundance. But condensed matter has it too and, by harnessing it, condensed matter physicists will be able to teach the public about the practical applications of their subject, as well as generate the sense of wonder that has driven them to study it.
This is important because there are many people who have been told by society that science isn鈥檛 for them. Undoing this conditioning is a vital step in widening access to physics, condensed matter physics in particular. The health of the subject is at stake: to answer the biggest questions about the world, we require the broadest possible range of world views. The hat, for instance, was discovered not by a mathematician, but by a retired print technician who describes himself as a 鈥渟hape hobbyist鈥�. This is where the magic comes in. Because, while some may not feel a connection to science, we all have an intuitive sense of magic 鈥� of the world鈥檚 ability to inspire.
Felix Flicker is author of . He is organising a public conference about 鈥渢he hat鈥�:
