hide
Free keywords:
-
Abstract:
Electrons inside a conductor are often described as flowing in response to an electric field. This flow rarely resembles anything like the familiar flow of water through a pipe, but three groups describe counterexamples (see the Perspective by Zaanen). Moll et al. found that the viscosity of the electron fluid in thin wires of PdCoO2 had a major effect on the flow, much like what happens in regular fluids. Bandurin et al. found evidence in graphene of electron whirlpools similar to those formed by viscous fluid flowing through a small opening. Finally, Crossno et al. observed a huge increase of thermal transport in graphene, a signature of so-called Dirac fluids.Science, this issue p. 1061, 1055, 1058; see also p. 1026Electron transport is conventionally determined by the momentum-relaxing scattering of electrons by the host solid and its excitations. Hydrodynamic fluid flow through channels, in contrast, is determined partly by the viscosity of the fluid, which is governed by momentum-conserving internal collisions. A long-standing question in the physics of solids has been whether the viscosity of the electron fluid plays an observable role in determining the resistance. We report experimental evidence that the resistance of restricted channels of the ultrapure two-dimensional metal palladium cobaltate (PdCoO2) has a large viscous contribution. Comparison with theory allows an estimate of the electronic viscosity in the range between 6 ̑exttimes} 10{–}3 kg m{–}1 s{–}1 and 3 {̑exttimes} 10{–}4 kg m{–}1 s{–}1, versus 1 {̑exttimes} 10{–}3 kg m{–}1 s{–1 for water at room temperature.
