A bizarre new form of matter has been discovered by physicists and it’s not a solid, liquid or gas.
Researchers in Scotland used artificial intelligence to confirm the new substance which could rewrite textbooks and change what we know about basic science.
A spokesperson for the University of Edinburgh said: “The discovery is important because matter usually exists in one of three states — solid, liquid or gas. It is extraordinary to find atoms in more than one state at the same time.”
The new type of matter discovered is both solid and liquid at the same time.
Study co-author Andreas Hermann described the substance like “holding a sponge filled with water that starts dripping out, except the sponge is also made of water.”
The matter is made from an unusual state of potassium and could exist deep under the Earth’s crust where extremely hot conditions would enable it to remain in its unusual form.
This is the first time in history that scientists have been able to prove such a state is thermodynamically stable for any element.
The research has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
Hermann and his colleagues used machine learning to confirm that when potassium is put under between 20,000 and 40,000 times atmospheric pressure and 260 to 980 degrees Fahrenheit, the element entered a chain-melted state.
In this state, the atom chains which make up the potassium dissolve into liquid but the remaining potassium crystals stay solid.
These findings could teach us more about the substances and matter which make up other planets in the universe.
Due to this research, it is now thought that over six elements are capable of existing in this newly discovered state, including sodium.
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