Graphene Reveals Electrons Flowing as a Frictionless Fluid

By Quantum Server Networks

Graphene, the celebrated “wonder material” composed of a single layer of carbon atoms, has once again defied expectations. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), in collaboration with the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan, have observed electrons in graphene behaving like a frictionless quantum fluid. The discovery, reported in Nature Physics and summarized by Phys.org, challenges established textbook rules and opens new avenues for quantum technologies.

Electrons moving like a fluid in graphene

Image: Artistic rendering of electrons flowing as a fluid in graphene. Credit: Aniket Majumdar

Breaking the Wiedemann–Franz Law

In ordinary metals, the Wiedemann–Franz law states that electrical and thermal conductivity are proportional: if electrons carry charge efficiently, they should also carry heat efficiently. Yet in ultra-clean graphene samples, the IISc team observed the opposite. As electrical conductivity increased, thermal conductivity decreased—a striking decoupling that violates long-accepted principles by a factor of over 200 at low temperatures.

This anomaly arises from a Dirac fluid, a state where electrons stop behaving like individual particles and instead flow collectively like a liquid. Remarkably, this fluid is nearly “perfect,” with viscosity close to the theoretical minimum, rivaling the exotic quark–gluon plasma seen in high-energy particle accelerators.

The Dirac Point: Where Magic Happens

The quantum fluid emerges at the Dirac point—a delicate balance where graphene is neither a conductor nor an insulator. By finely tuning electron density, researchers created the conditions where electrical and thermal transport diverged, guided by a universal quantum constant: the quantum of conductance.

“It is amazing that there is so much to do on just a single layer of graphene even after 20 years of discovery,” said Professor Arindam Ghosh of IISc, underlining graphene’s continuing potential as a tabletop quantum laboratory.

Why This Matters

The implications of a frictionless electron fluid are both fundamental and technological:

  • Fundamental physics – a low-cost, accessible platform to explore black hole thermodynamics, entanglement entropy, and quantum criticality.
  • Quantum sensing – graphene’s Dirac fluid could amplify faint electrical signals and detect ultra-weak magnetic fields.
  • Advanced electronics – decoupling charge and heat transport may enable devices that remain cool even under high current densities.

By bridging condensed matter physics with concepts from astrophysics and high-energy physics, graphene strengthens its reputation as the ultimate material for both science and technology.

Graphene: Still the Wonder Material

Since its isolation in 2004, graphene has astonished scientists with its strength, conductivity, and versatility. The discovery of a near-perfect quantum fluid inside it proves that even after two decades, this one-atom-thick material continues to break boundaries and inspire new paradigms in electronics and quantum research.

Source: Phys.org (2025)

This blog article was prepared with the assistance of AI technologies.

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#Graphene #QuantumFluid #DiracFluid #MaterialsScience #QuantumPhysics #Nanotechnology #QuantumSensors #WiedemannFranzLaw #CondensedMatter #QuantumServerNetworks #PWmat

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