By Imlisanen Jamir
In August, a theoretical physics paper from Nagaland University landed on the cover of an international journal and was soon publicised in local and national media. Written by Dr. Biplab Pal, assistant professor of physics at the University, it described something with a name as dense as a physics textbook—“Aharonov–Bohm caging of an electron in a quantum fractal”—but what it actually showed was both simpler and stranger. It proved that under the right magnetic conditions, electrons can be held captive inside a shape modelled on the repeating patterns we see all around us.
Think for a moment of a snowflake, or a terraced field cut into a hillside. These aren’t random shapes; they’re fractals—patterns that echo themselves at different scales. Pal built a theoretical playground of loops shaped like those patterns and threaded each loop with the same magnetic field. In his equations, electrons moving through this labyrinth picked up a hidden twist in their quantum wave each time they looped around. At a particular magnetic strength, those twists cancelled out the pathways so neatly that the electron couldn’t escape. It became caged. It is as if you rolled a marble onto a snowflake-shaped slide and, instead of rolling off, it stopped dead at a corner because the paths forced it to. That’s what this paper describes—only at the quantum level.
Most quantum devices today are built from perfect crystal lattices, neat grids like eggs in a tray. Pal’s work suggests you can get the same, or even richer, quantum behaviour from irregular, “fractal” materials—messy honeycombs instead of uniform grids. That matters. It hints at cheaper materials and new designs for sensors, energy harvesters and quantum chips, which ties directly into India’s National Quantum Mission. And it matters for another reason: it happened here.
This is more than an academic curiosity. A university in Nagaland has just put a paper on the cover of an international physics journal. That should be a reminder that cutting-edge science isn’t only somewhere else. For students still wrestling with limited lab equipment and narrow choices, it is proof that curiosity and hard work can punch above their weight.
Pal’s paper shows that research at the edge of physics can come from unexpected places. It’s a vivid example of how patient investigation and clear thinking can open new doors in science without vast resources or famous institutions. For young people reading about this work, the message is straightforward: it is possible to ask bold questions and to find your own answers. That is a far more powerful lesson than any headline — and one that could shape the next generation of scientists from this region.
Comments can be sent to Imlisanenjamir@gmail.com
