The ‘Magic Angle’ Revolution: How Twisted Materials Could Reshape Our Future
MIT physicist Pablo Jarillo-Herrero and Allan MacDonald of the University of Texas at Austin have jointly been awarded the 2025 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award for their groundbreaking work on manipulating materials at the atomic level. Their discovery, centered around the “magic angle” in twisted bilayer graphene, isn’t just an academic triumph; it’s a potential gateway to a new era of materials science with far-reaching implications.
Unlocking Hidden Properties Through Rotation
For years, graphene – a single-atom-thick sheet of carbon – has been hailed as a wonder material. Its strength, conductivity, and flexibility are unparalleled. However, its potential has been limited by the difficulty in controlling its electronic properties. Jarillo-Herrero and MacDonald’s work changes that. By precisely twisting two layers of graphene onto each other at a specific angle (around 1.1 degrees, hence the “magic angle”), they’ve demonstrated the ability to induce entirely new behaviors, including superconductivity – the flow of electricity with zero resistance.
This isn’t merely about graphene. The principle extends to other two-dimensional materials, opening up a vast design space for creating materials with tailored properties. Think of it like a Rubik’s Cube for materials science; subtle rotations unlock a universe of possibilities.
Superconductivity and Beyond: The Potential Applications
The most immediate and impactful application of this research lies in superconductivity. Current electricity transmission suffers significant energy loss due to resistance. Superconducting materials could eliminate this loss, leading to a more sustainable and efficient energy grid. A 2022 report by the US Department of Energy estimates that upgrading the US grid with superconducting cables could save billions of dollars annually and significantly reduce carbon emissions.
But the potential doesn’t stop there. The “magic angle” effect can also induce magnetism in materials that aren’t normally magnetic, creating new possibilities for data storage and spintronics – a field that uses the spin of electrons, rather than their charge, to process information. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, are currently exploring using twisted bilayer graphene for creating ultra-fast, energy-efficient transistors.
Did you know? The initial theoretical prediction by MacDonald in 2011 was largely overlooked until Jarillo-Herrero’s experimental validation in 2018, highlighting the crucial interplay between theory and experimentation in scientific breakthroughs.
The Rise of ‘Twistronics’ and the Materials Genome Initiative
This field is rapidly becoming known as “twistronics.” It represents a paradigm shift in materials design, moving away from traditional chemical composition as the primary driver of properties and towards structural control. This aligns perfectly with the goals of the Materials Genome Initiative, a US government initiative aimed at accelerating the discovery and development of new materials.
The impact of twistronics extends beyond fundamental research. Companies like IBM and Intel are already investing in research exploring the use of twisted materials in next-generation computing technologies. The ability to fine-tune material properties without altering their chemical makeup offers a significant advantage in terms of cost and scalability.
Challenges and Future Directions
Despite the immense promise, significant challenges remain. Precisely controlling the twist angle at scale is incredibly difficult. Current fabrication techniques are often limited to small samples. Furthermore, the underlying physics of the “magic angle” effect is still not fully understood, hindering the rational design of new twisted materials.
Future research will focus on:
- Developing scalable manufacturing techniques for twisted materials.
- Exploring new combinations of two-dimensional materials beyond graphene.
- Using advanced computational modeling to predict and optimize the properties of twisted structures.
- Investigating the potential of twistronics for quantum computing.
Pro Tip: Keep an eye on research coming out of MIT’s Materials Research Laboratory and the University of Texas at Austin’s physics department – these are currently at the forefront of twistronics research.
FAQ
Q: What is the “magic angle”?
A: It’s the specific angle (around 1.1 degrees) at which two layers of graphene, when twisted relative to each other, exhibit dramatically altered electronic properties, including superconductivity.
Q: Is this technology commercially available yet?
A: Not yet. While significant progress has been made, scaling up production and overcoming fabrication challenges are still ongoing.
Q: What materials besides graphene can be used?
A: Other two-dimensional materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), are also being explored for their twistronic properties.
Q: What is superconductivity and why is it important?
A: Superconductivity is the ability of a material to conduct electricity with zero resistance. This could revolutionize energy transmission, computing, and transportation.
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