Speed Trap

A new technique can measure the velocity of electrons in an electric current inside a crystal. A related technique mapped the density of electrons in the crystal using MRI. Image Credit: Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 037601 (2006)

Like traffic cops with radar guns, physicists can now gauge the speed of electrons in a current. Researchers have recently described a speed-measuring system that uses magnetic resonance and demonstrate a test in which they verified Ohm's Law by directly observing electrons. The technique could eventually create the first images of the flow of electrons through materials at the micron scale.

Text courtesy of Physical Review Focus.
Read more about this research at Physical Review Focus.