Scientists create material that can both move and block heat

Scientists have invented a new way to funnel heat around at the microscopic level: a thermal insulator made using an innovative technique. They stack ultra-thin layers of crystalline sheets on top of each other, but rotate each layer slightly, creating a material with atoms that are aligned in one direction but not in the other. The result is a material that is extremely good at both containing heat and moving it, albeit in different directions -- an unusual ability at the microscale, and one that could have very useful applications in electronics and other technology.