New material: metal and insulator simultaneously!

SmB6, or samarium hexaboride, behaves at very low temperature in a way which makes scientists to question the basis of condensed matter physics. Understand how materials behave at the quantum level is a crucial element in the development of new theories and the performance of experiments. Physics behaves very different within these regimes, and now, a possible new quantum phase could be explored. New experiments are being conducted to shed some light on this paradox...