Scientists discovered that large spin-orbit coupling and strong electron correlations in the system
The Nernst reaction occurs when the materialconverts the flow of heat into electrical voltage. This thermoelectric phenomenon can be used in devices that generate electricity from a heat source. The most prominent example is radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which use heat from the natural radioactive decay of plutonium-238 to generate electricity - one such RTG currently powers the Mars Perseverance rover on Mars.
“What’s interesting is this colossalthe anomalous Nernst effect appears to be due to the rich topology of the material. This topology is created by the large spin-orbit coupling that is common in actinides. One consequence of the topology of metals is the generation of transverse velocity, which can cause a Nernst reaction. It can also generate other effects, such as new surface states, which could be useful in various quantum information technologies."
Philip Ronning, director of the Materials Science Institute at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The uranium system generated changestemperatures of 23 microvolts per kelvin - four times higher than the previous record, which was discovered in a cobalt-manganese-gallium alloy a couple of years ago and has also been attributed to these types of topological sources.
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