
Weyl fermions were first hypothesized by German mathematician and physicist Hermann Weyl in 1929. They were proposed as being among the building blocks of subatomic particles, and were also said to be unique in that they would have no mass and also behave as both matter and antimatter – which has the same mass but opposite charge and other properties to regular matter – inside a crystal.
Initially, they were wrongly identified as neutrinos, until it was found in 1998 that neutrinos have a very small amount of mass. Now the researchers say they have solved the 85-year-old mystery for good. The research by both teams was published in the journal Science.

But they are important, because Weyl fermions are very stable, and they will also only interact with other Weyl fermions, staying on the same course and at the same speed until they do. This means that, for example, they can carry a charge for long distances without getting scattered and creating heat, like electrons, according to Live Science.
“The physics of the Weyl fermion are so strange, there could be many things that arise from this particle that we're just not capable of imagining now,” said co-author Zahid Hasan, a Princeton professor of physics who led the research team, in a statement.

And its unique properties could make it incredibly useful for electronics in the future, including the development of quantum computing, Hasan told IFLScience. For one thing, they can move independently of one another, and they can also create massless electrons. The consequence is they could flow more easily and lose less heat, making electrons more efficient. "It's like they have their own GPS and steer themselves without scattering," Hasan added in the statement.
IFL Science/QH