{
  "id": 9771257,
  "title": "Rare quantum state reveals particles with quarter-electron charge",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/rare-quantum-state-reveals-particles-with-quarter-electron-charge",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-25T13:00:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-09-rare-quantum-state-reveals-particles.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "An electron's charge is normally fixed, like a coin you can't break into pieces. But if electrons are cooled close to absolute zero and trapped in a two-dimensional layer under a powerful magnetic field, they organize into a collective state of \"quasiparticles\" that seem to hold only a fraction of an electron's charge.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}