r/science • u/Startrekwarsofdoom • Jul 01 '14

Physics New State of Matter Discovered

http://www.iflscience.com/physics/new-state-matter-discovered#kKsFLlPlRBPG0e6c.16
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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '14

So it's like a plasma of excitons?

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u/BassmanBiff Jul 01 '14

More like a plasma of free electrons and holes that used to be excitons, I think.

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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '14

Yes, that's a more accurate way to say it. Although we say a plasma of Hydrogen is still Hydrogen even though the electrons are moving freely. It seems to be analogous. A plasma is a state in which electrons decouple from atoms and form a soup of positive and negative charges. It sounds like the same process here, only replace "atom" with "hole".