The performance of an object that has been dependent upon whether the object is composed of a conductive or a nonconductive material. Conductors are materials that allow electrons to flow freely from ...

University of Cambridge researchers have discovered that a material already known for its peculiar electrical properties appears to behave as both a conductor and an insulator at the same time. This ...

Combining a topological insulator with a superconductor could enable the design of advanced materials with broad potential application in semiconductor electronics and computing, including novel ...

Normally metals and insulators sit at opposite ends of a spectrum of conductivity, but researchers have discovered a material that can switch between those states freely, even at room temperature. The ...

Some materials that are inherently disordered display unusual conductivity, sometimes behaving like insulators and sometimes like conductors. Physicists have now analyzed the conductivity in a special ...

Looking only at their subatomic particles, most materials can be placed into one of two categories. Metals — like copper and iron — have free-flowing electrons that allow them to conduct electricity, ...

Fine tuning: a new theoretical framework for controlling a system’s properties using laser beams has been developed. (Courtesy: iStock/Swillklitch) Laser light could turn a normally insulating ...