Experimenting in the lab does not always result in a fundamental breakthrough; however, 2021 has been a good year for matter physics. Recently, a research team have built a Wigner crystal comprised solely of electrons, which was initially proposed 90 years ago. The only-electron made crystal is also shown in the images.
According to research published in the journal Nature, scientists wedged the electrons in an electric field between two atom-thin layers of tungsten disulfide and tungsten diselenide. The atoms in those compounds are few distances apart, so the overlapping layers created a honeycomb-shaped pattern of lower-energy regions, which also helped the electrons to settle down. The handling of the electrons is a spectacular experimental feat that has previously defied the most advanced physics laboratories.
![](https://wonderfulengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Wigner-Crystal-Electrons_2560_Lede_Still-1024x576.jpg)
Various other scientists also claimed to have made Wigner crystals, with some compelling findings. However, no one has ever shown photographic evidence of their crystal before, said study co-author and the University of California, Berkeley physicist Feng Wang.
![](https://wonderfulengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Wigner-Crystal-eth-zurich-1024x512.jpg)
“If you say you have an electron crystal, show me the crystal,” he said.
Since catching the crystal’s image through a camera would have been impossible, the scientists had to take a smart approach. The image was captured with a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM), which uses a probe to pinpoint the precise location of gridlocked electrons by analysing how they react to a little burst of energy.