来自多伦多大学、巴黎高等师范学校和利哈伊大学的研究人员发现了一个出人意料的物理现象：由粒子碰撞引起的电阻存在饱和上限 [1]。研究团队利用超冷钾原子（温度接近绝对零度，原子大小仅几纳米）在光学晶格中进行了精密实验 [1]。实验结果表明，随着碰撞频率增加，电阻初期随之上升，但最终会趋于饱和，停止继续增加 [1]。
这一发现刊登在《物理评论快报》2026年第136卷第21期上 [1]。研究团队的工作为理解低密度金属中的电阻行为提供了微观解释 [1]。
Researchers from the University of Toronto, École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and Lehigh University have discovered that electrical resistance arising from particle collisions has a fundamental upper limit [1]. In experiments using ultracold potassium atoms confined in an optical lattice, the team observed that as collision frequency increases, resistance initially rises but eventually saturates, ceasing to grow further [1]. The atoms, cooled to near absolute zero and measuring only several nanometers across, provided an ideal system for studying this quantum phenomenon [1].
The findings, published in Physical Review Letters in volume 136, issue 21 in 2026, offer microscopic insight into how electrical resistance behaves in low-density metals [1]. The discovery of this resistivity saturation effect carries practical implications for energy transmission, where electrical losses can account for as much as 8 percent of generated power [1].