"I still exist!" Thinking back to that dialogue from the classic 1957 film "Incredible Shrinking Man," - Jack Arnold's classic tale adapted from Richard Matheson's novel about a man who cannot stop shrinking after passing through a strange mist. Well, that shrinking man would have eventually witnessed acoustic surface plasmon!

Scientists have proved the existence of a new type of electron wave present on metal surfaces that could assist in the development of nano-optics and high-temperature superconductors. Known as the “acoustic surface plasmon”, the phenomenon has previously been predicted in theory but has been difficult to prove because of the incredible accuracy required to make measurements on such a minute scale. “The existence of this wave means that the electrons on the surfaces of copper, iron, beryllium and other metals behave like water on a lake’s surface,” says Karsten Pohl, associate professor of physics at University of New Hampshire.

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