Under the right conditions, electrons can “freeze” into an unusual and highly ordered solid state. In a groundbreaking achievement, physicists at Berkeley Lab have successfully captured the first-ever direct images of this phenomenon, revealing a new quantum phase of matter known as the Wigner molecular crystal.

At its core, the Wigner molecular crystal is a unique variation of a solid electron phase. Unlike typical Wigner crystals, where individual electrons arrange themselves into a regular lattice, the Wigner molecular crystal features groups of electrons that settle together in each lattice position, forming what can be described as “electron molecules.”

Worldwide, an estimated 110 million landmines remain buried in over 70 countries, a deadly legacy of past and ongoing conflicts. These hidden threats continue to cause devastation, resulting in 4,710 casualties in 2022 alone, with civilians accounting for more than 85% of the victims. Tragically, nearly half of these casualties were children. As new mines are deployed daily in conflict zones, the humanitarian crisis deepens, and the cost of their removal remains exorbitant—while a landmine costs only around $3 to produce, it can take up to $1,000 to safely remove each one.

The challenge of detecting and clearing these dangerous remnants of war is immense. Traditional methods, such as handheld metal detectors and ground-penetrating radar (GPR), are commonly used but often fall short, particularly when it comes to non-metallic landmines made of plastic. Metal detectors, for instance, can trigger false positives, while GPR can be ineffective in certain soil conditions or when faced with complex environmental factors.