Credit: TU Wien We all have a clear picture in mind when we think of metals: We think of solid, unbreakable objects that conduct electricity and exhibit a typical metallic sheen. The behaviour of classical metals, for example their electrical conductivity, can be explained with well-known, well-tested physical theories. But there are also more exotic metallic compounds that pose riddles: Some alloys are hard and brittle, special metal oxides can be transparent. There are even materials right at the border between metal and insulator: tiny changes in chemical composition turn the metal into an insulator - or vice versa. In such materials, metallic states with extremely poor electrical conductivity occur; these are referred to as "bad metals". Until now, it seemed that these "bad metals" simply could not be explained with conventional theories. New measurements now show that these metals are not that "bad" after all. Upon closer inspection, their behaviour fits in perfectly with what we already knew about metals.