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Lankan scientist makes major breakthrough in Physics

Sri Lankan young scientist Ranga Dias a postdoctoral fellow, Lyman Laboratory of Physics, Department of Physics, Harvard University has contributed to a major scientific breakthrough in Physics.

Isaac Silvera, Cabot professor of the natural sciences and Ranga Dias have produced metallic hydrogen, which has been just a theory for more than eight decades.
Scientists have been working on metallic hydrogen for decades.According to Harvard Gazette, nearly a century after it was theorized, Harvard scientists report they have succeeded in creating the rarest material on the planet, which could eventually develop into one of its most valuable.

In their experiments, Silvera and Dias squeezed a tiny hydrogen sample at 495 gigapascal (GPa), or more than 71.7 million pounds per square inch, which is greater than the pressure at the center of the Earth. Professor of the Natural Sciences Isaac Silvera, who has been working on metallic hydrogen for 45 years, disclosed to Harvard Gazette that their work creates an important window into understanding the general properties of hydrogen, it also offers tantalizing hints at potentially revolutionary new materials. Sri Lankan scientist Ranaga Dias pointed out that a room temperature superconductor, could change our transportation system, making magnetic levitation of high-speed trains possible, as well as making electric cars more efficient and improving the performance of many electronic devices.

Ranga Dias , who born in Sri Lanka , did his undergraduate studies at University of Colombo , Faculty of Science and graduated in 2006. In 2007, he moved to Washington State University for graduate studies and he completed his Ph.D in the field of extreme condensed matter physics. - Mendaka Abeysekera in New York