To most physicists, a metal is something that conducts electricity AND gets more conductive as it gets colder. The second condition is important to distinguish metals from insulators and semiconductors. (This is a good, but not perfect, definition.)
It is hard to commercialize a substance that we are unable to create/maintain the conditions to use.
But if someone can demonstrate how to make and hold solid hydrogen in a configuration where superconduction can be demonstrated at room temperature, then you've clearly gone several steps towards addressing feasibility, and you've demonstrated the existence of potential commercial opportunities.
Metal is a substance where the electrons flow "freely" in a lower potential created by the nuclei. That's different from, for example covalent crystals, where electrons are "locked" into a region, and ionic composts, where electrions distribution is quite like the one on free atoms.
Now, I put "free" and "locked" inside quotes because they are not completely so. There is a continuum, and no substance is at the extrema.
Also, at astronomy "metal" has a completely different meaning.
That is an interesting result. The ability to create contained electrons on demand would allow for creating what minecraft folks think of as red bricks :-). More seriously though it you can pass an electric field over otherwise insulating surfaces you can do lots of clever things. Not the least of which is interfering or enhancing the transmission of signals through such materials.
Looks promising, could we 3d print houses now? The last part of engineering which have now been automated.
I want something like cement-metal protection on my car paint coating, ceramic coating and or sapphire based coating. Ie something super hard and non-sticky to dirt and non corrosive.
This will wreak absolute havoc in the lives of game programmers who are going to have to deal with reflective surfaces friggin' everywhere. Come on! Hasn't science gone far enough?
