Physicists in Germany have led experiments that show the inertia of electrons can form ‘tornadoes’ inside a quantum semimetal.

It’s almost impossible for electrons to sit still, and their motions can take on some bizarre forms. Case in point: an analysis of electron behavior in a quantum material called tantalum arsenide reveals vortices.

But the story gets weirder. These electrons aren’t spiraling in a physical place – they’re doing so in a quantum blur of possibility called momentum space. Rather than drawing a map of particles potential locations, or position space, momentum space describes their motion through their energy and direction.