Copper, platinum, aluminum, gold. Metals have been so important in human history that we’ve named historical epochs (the Bronze Age, the Iron Age) for their transformative power. These materials, with their characteristic ability to conduct electricity, are no less vital to our modern era—they are found in essentially every technology that has enabled the information age. Yet despite metals’ utility, scientists are still trying to decipher their inner workings.After centuries of study, physicist...