Prof. Dragan Mihailović, PhD: Discovery of a “Hidden” Quantum State

The biggest treasure on earth is new knowledge. The more scientific truths we acquire, the wealthier we become. This is the underlying sentiment which shows through at large event presentations related to scientific discoveries. However, science nowadays is so specialized that each new finding can contribute significantly to the mosaic of grand discoveries. Mostly we are unaware of this. The fast changing times make us take for granted things that scientists had worked on for months, just to get to a result that is now of benefit to all of us, in one way or another. The history of science is full of such examples.

Slovenians are occasionally not really aware of these facts, even though there is a high level of knowledge present in the country, even at the state-of-the-art level. The largest concentration of know-how can be found at universities and institutes, primarily those that also provide a nurturing research environment. Our largest science and research institute, the Jožef Stefan Institute, is one of those. Its researchers publish their conclusions in renowned scientific journals. One high-profile article that was published in Science Magazine was Ultrafast Switching to a Stable Hidden Quantum State in an Electronic Crystal which was penned by the associates of the Department of Complex Matter under Prof. Dragan Mihailović, PhD, Head of the Department.

In an interview for Tromba, Dr. Mihailović explained, among other things, the discovery of the so-called hidden quantum state which was the topic of the said article.

Prof. Mihailović shed some light on the background of various phase transitions, even those that we face daily, in this captivating TEDx talk:

 

Photo & video: Igor Domijan