

Scientists may have found a new state of matter - ari_smith
http://io9.com/5724996/scientists-may-have-found-a-new-state-of-matter

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andrewflnr
Is it just me, or is "state of matter" less of set of discrete boxes and more
of a continuum with several parameters to describe a "state"? This gel,
anyway, pretty much seems like a solid with a peculiar set of values for
brittleness and flexibility.

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acjohnson55
States are usually quite discontinuous, as in the transitions between solids,
liquids, and gases. Usually a state has properties that apply throughout the
material in bulk that derive specifically from how the particles interact with
one another on a small scale. Usually, there are very distinct boundaries in
therodynamic properties between phases. There are exceptions to this though,
like in the case of pitch [1].

That being said, to me, this sounds more like a mixture [2] than a state of
matter, unless there some sort of chemical interaction between the Laponite
and water. But hey, the scientists probably know more than me about that.

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_%28resin%29](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_%28resin%29)
[2]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixture](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixture)

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phdtree
How this "equilibrium gel" is a new state of matter exactly?

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frozenport
Unlike BEC where quantum wave functions form an amalgam at 2.E-7K, with
drastically different properties (harmonic generation of atoms, some materials
passing through each other), this stuff is sensationalism.

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jdmitch
seems to be pretty old news from the original link:
[http://news.sciencemag.org/physics/2010/12/new-state-
matter-...](http://news.sciencemag.org/physics/2010/12/new-state-matter-seen-
clay?rss=1)

