Condensed Matter Physics

Think adjectives. Think descriptions. Think ways to describe matter, such as by its mass or electric charge. Condensed matter physics is the study of physical properties (the adjectives and descriptions) of matter. Of course, scientists have gotten past simply finding the mass or electric charge of matter. Not all matter receives equal treatment, though. These physicists mostly study matter with many strongly interacting constituents, or “condensed” matter. Liquids and solids are the two general types of condensed matter, and the physicists typically fall into one of those main categories of study. With the study of condensed matter comes technology such as magnetic recording disks and solid-state lasers. The science manifests in daily life in the form of computers and telecommunication.

--by Serena Dai

 

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