Scientists have created a compound inspired by the catchphrase “Bazinga” that is frequently uttered by Sheldon Cooper, a character on the popular TV series The Big Bang Theory .
The compound BaZnGa, made of barium (Ba), zinc (Zn) and gallium (Ga), forms a never-before-seen crystal structure.
However, BaZnGa did not have any other exciting features, scientists said. It behaves like other non-magnetic quasicrystals, but has a different arrangement of atoms. Its creation is part of scientific efforts to discover new materials and characterise them, said Paul Canfield, a professor at Iowa State University in the U.S.
The researchers, who were already planning to study three-part compounds that contained barium and zinc, went ahead to create BaZnGa, after they watched a promo of the sitcom. “Whenever you find a new structure, it gives you further information on how nature arranges atoms,” Mr. Canfield said.
