Chill Matter

Researchers have discovered a new state of matter to go along with good ol' solid, liquid, gas, plasma and a handful of quantum states—it's called a quasi-three-dimensional electron crystal. Don't make me have to tell you twice!

While the name sounds like something that a Dungeon Master may bury in a haunted crypt, this new state of matter could be used to fabricate modern transistors and continue Moore's Law... possibly indefinitely. The quasi-three-dimensional electron crystals were discovered in a device scientists cooled at ultra-low temperatures. How ultra? Try roughly 100 times colder than intergalactic space. They then exposed it to the most powerful magnetic fields possible on Earth, which made it “pop” from a 2D electron system to a semi-3D one. It could also help improve transistors, allowing for greater density on a single microchip. Just don't touch it - it's cold.