abstract:In condensed matter physics, quantum spin liquid is a state that can be achieved in a system of interacting quantum spins. The state is referred to as a "liquid" as it is a disordered state in comparison to a ferromagnetic spin state, much in the way liquid water is in a disordered state compared to crystalline ice.
They've shown that a synthetically grown sample of herbertsmithite crystal (what you see above) behaves as a quantumspinliquid: a material where fractional quantum states produce a liquid-like flux in magnetic orientations, even if the material is solid.