Herbertsmithite

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Herbertsmithite is a mineral with chemical structure Zn Cu₃(OH)₆Cl₂. It is named after the mineralogist Herbert Smith and was first found in 1972 in Chile. The mineral has properties considered, generically, to be of potential use in quantum computing.

Recent studies at MIT have investigated purified herbertsmithite in a study to determine if it is a new state of matter known as a string-net liquid (see also: string-net). Current research is incomplete, however compelling evidence has raised the possibility that it may be this previously unobserved state of matter. Electrons in herbertsmithite are arranged in an abnormal triangular mesh (Kagome lattice). Electrons regularly line up with their spins in opposing direction, which requires even numbers of atoms in a pattern, so that they can always alternate from one to the next in all directions. The string-net theory predicts that this previously unknown electron configuration, where electrons have "partial charges" and therefore can be in odd-numbered patterns, is possible.