In the newspaper science section, Xabier Marcano comments on the creation, for the first time, of a three-dimensional skyrmion in a quantum gas by scientists from the Amherst College and Aalto University. The skyrmion existence was predicted over 40 years ago, but never observed until now. Interestingly, the properties of this knotted structured skyrmion match those of a ball lightning, a phenomenon usually related to electric storms and that are still mysterious.
Photo credit: David Hall