News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Quantum Physicists Explained Earth’s Oscillating Weather Patterns. Parent comment

Re:Quantum Physicists Explained Earth’s Oscillating Weather ... by kergonath on Wednesday July 19, 2023 @02:16AM (#36782698)
That’s a culture difference issue. A topological insulator is a kind of material with specific properties (heavily simplified, that its inside is an electric insulator and its surface is an electric conductor). That’s where the topological aspect comes from. It has nothing to do with topology in mathematics except the name.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Quantum Physicists Explained Earth’s Oscillating Weather ... by staunton on Wednesday July 19, 2023 @02:27AM (#36782764)
> It has nothing to do with topology in mathematics except the name.

Well, the description of a topological insulator does use a tiny bit of topology.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Quantum Physicists Explained Earth’s Oscillating Weather ... by gmadsen on Wednesday July 19, 2023 @04:57AM (#36783676)
that is simply not true. They are classified by their topological invariants, which affects their properties.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Quantum Physicists Explained Earth’s Oscillating Weather ... by civilitty on Wednesday July 19, 2023 @08:32AM (#36785269)
The topological aspect, very much in the mathematical sense, is that the insulator maintains those properties even when deformed.

So when you cut a topological insulator in half to expose the non-conducting inside, that exposed surface becomes conducting again.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Quantum Physicists Explained Earth’s Oscillating Weather ... by MikePlacid on Wednesday July 19, 2023 @11:38AM (#36788186)
That makes me confused even more. Isn’t cutting a non - continuous deformation, that breaks topology?
[ Parent | on HN ]