Element 83 on the periodic table, bismuth is a hard, pinkish-white metal that can grow in stunning geometric crystals.
The Princeton-led study, published in Nature Physics this month, used a technique called scanning tunneling microscopy to show that bismuth electrons prefer to crowd into a single valley, creating a type of electricity called ferroelectricity. Scientists call it “emergent behavior.”
We’re reaching the physical limits of packing transistors into increasingly tiny spaces, but insights into this growing field of “valleytronics” could lead to new materials that will ensure ever more powerful processors are available to quench our insatiable thirst for better, faster technology.
