University of Cambridge researchers have discovered that a material already known for its peculiar electrical properties appears to behave as both a conductor and an insulator at the same time. This ...

Cambridge researchers have identified a material that behaves as both a conductor and an insulator. The material, samarium hexaboride (SmB6), acts like an insulator in certain measurements, but ...

The electronic energy states allowed by quantum mechanics determine whether a solid is an insulator or whether it conducts electric current as a metal. Researchers have now theoretically predicted a ...

Carbyne, which is made of carbon atoms, can change from conductor to insulator on application of some mechanical force. A little stretch is all it takes to turn the world's strongest material from a ...

More efficient computers and other devices often begin with new materials. One promising option is vanadium dioxide, which rapidly transforms from an insulator to a conductor in femtoseconds.

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.--It's hard to believe that a single material can be described by as many superlatives as graphene can. Since its discovery in 2004, scientists have found that the lacy, honeycomb-like ...

Fran: You might be thinking that a conductor stands at the front of an orchestra waving their arms around, and they do. But we're talking about a different kind of conductor. A conductor of ...

“Correlated materials have interesting electronic, magnetic, and structural properties, and we try to understand how those properties change when their temperature is changed or under the application ...

Plastics are excellent insulators, meaning they efficiently trap heat—a quality that is an advantage in something such as a coffee cup sleeve. But this insulating property is less desirable in ...

We’re surrounded by electrically powered devices these days. From our lights, to our kettles, and of course our phones! Electricity flows through copper or aluminium wire to power or charge all of ...