在隕石中首次發(fā)現(xiàn)了超導(dǎo)性

在隕石中首次發(fā)現(xiàn)了超導(dǎo)性

Scientists have found naturally occurring superconducting materials in extraterrestrial objects for the first time, discovering superconductive grains embedded inside two distinct meteorites that crash-landed on Earth.

科學(xué)家首次在地外天體中發(fā)現(xiàn)了自然存在的超導(dǎo)物質(zhì)，發(fā)現(xiàn)了嵌入在兩顆墜落地球的不同隕石中的超導(dǎo)顆粒。

The discovery is just the latest to show that meteorites are much more than space debris that falls out of the sky. Recent investigations have turned up meteorite-borne deliveries of possible extraterrestrial proteins, minerals we've never encountered, and materials older than the Solar System itself. But we've never seen something quite like this before.

這一最新發(fā)現(xiàn)表明，隕石遠(yuǎn)不只是天上掉下來的太空碎片。最近的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，可能是隕石攜帶的外星蛋白質(zhì)、我們從未見過的礦物質(zhì)，以及比太陽系本身更古老的物質(zhì)。但我們從未見過這樣的景象。

Superconductivity is a set of physical properties that ensures 'perfect' electrical conductivity in a material, meaning all electrical resistance inside the material vanishes, among other effects. This prized phenomenon is incredibly rare in natural materials that haven't been specially treated – or, at least, it's rare on Earth.

超導(dǎo)性是一套物理特性，它確保了材料的“完美”導(dǎo)電性，這意味著材料內(nèi)部的所有電阻都會消失，還有其他影響。這種珍貴的現(xiàn)象在未經(jīng)特殊處理的天然材料中極為罕見，至少在地球上是罕見的。

In the distant sky above, things could be very, very different, researchers say, with extreme environments in space creating exotic material phases not seen on Earth, via astronomical events that can unleash incredibly high temperatures and extremely high amounts of pressure.

研究人員說，在遙遠(yuǎn)的天空中，情況可能會非常、非常不同，太空中的極端環(huán)境會通過天文事件產(chǎn)生地球上看不到的奇異物質(zhì)相，這些事件會釋放出難以置信的高溫和極高的壓力。

Because of this, the thinking goes, meteorites could be good candidates for finding naturally formed superconducting materials forged in the strangeness of space. The only problem is, previous searches have never identified any such superconducting compounds. At least, not until now.

正因為如此，人們認(rèn)為，隕石可能是在太空的奇異環(huán)境中發(fā)現(xiàn)自然形成的超導(dǎo)材料的良好候選。唯一的問題是，之前的研究從未發(fā)現(xiàn)過這種超導(dǎo)化合物。至少到現(xiàn)在還沒有。

In a new study led by researchers from UC San Diego, scientists investigated fragments from 15 different meteorites, using a technique called magnetic field modulated microwave spectroscopy to detect traces of superconductivity inside the samples.

在一項由加州大學(xué)圣地亞哥分校的研究人員領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的新研究中，科學(xué)家們研究了15種不同隕石的碎片，使用一種稱為磁場調(diào)制微波光譜的技術(shù)，來檢測樣品內(nèi)部的超導(dǎo)性痕跡。

They got two hits: one, in an iron meteorite called Mundrabilla, one of the largest meteorites ever found, which was discovered in Australia in 1911; the other, a rare ureilite meteorite called GRA 95205, located in Antarctica a quarter-century ago.

他們成功找到了兩顆隕石：一顆是在1911年在澳大利亞發(fā)現(xiàn)的最大的隕石之一，叫做孟德拉比拉的鐵隕石中;另一顆是在四分之一世紀(jì)前在南極洲發(fā)現(xiàn)的一種罕見的叫做GRA95205的鈾隕石。

According to the team's measurements, which also drew upon vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) methods, both of these space rocks contain minute amounts of extraterrestrial superconductive grains.

根據(jù)研究小組的測量結(jié)果，同時借鑒了振動樣品磁強(qiáng)計(VSM)和能量色散X射線譜(EDX)方法，這兩種太空巖石都含有微量的地外超導(dǎo)顆粒。

"Naturally occurring superconductive materials are unusual, but they are particularly significant because these materials could be superconducting in extraterrestrial environments," says physicist and nanoscientist James Wampler.

物理學(xué)家和納米科學(xué)家詹姆斯沃普勒說：“自然產(chǎn)生的超導(dǎo)材料是不尋常的，但它們特別重要，因為這些材料在外星環(huán)境中可能是超導(dǎo)的。”。