For generations, scientists imagined lithium ions being ferried through solid materials by spinning molecular paddlewheels — a tidy metaphor that shaped years of research. An international team has now revealed the true mechanism: a momentary opening of the ionic cage surrounding each lithium ion, like a door briefly unlatching to allow passage. The discovery, made through supercomputer simulation at Sogang University and the Institute for Molecular Science, reorients the foundational understanding of how solid electrolytes work — and with it, the path toward batteries that no longer carry the