Scientists discover new, 3rd form of magnetism that may be the 'missing link' in the quest for superconductivity

[Judi Lynn]

By Victoria Atkinson published 20 hours ago

Scientists have found an elusive third form of magnetism that could help solve a longstanding puzzle about superconductors.


Researchers have obtained the first conclusive evidence of an elusive third class of magnetism, called altermagnetism. Their findings, published Dec. 11 in the journal Nature, could revolutionize the design of new high-speed magnetic memory devices and provide the missing puzzle piece in the development of better superconducting materials.

"We have previously had two well-established types of magnetism," study author Oliver Amin, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nottingham in the U.K., told Live Science. "Ferromagnetism, where the magnetic moments, which you can picture like small compass arrows on the atomic scale, all point in the same direction. And antiferromagnetism, where the neighboring magnetic moments point in opposite directions — you can picture that more like a chessboard of alternating white and black tiles."

Electron spins within an electrical current must point in one of two directions and can align with or against these magnetic moments to store or carry information, forming the basis of magnetic memory devices.

A new form of magnetism

Altermagnetic materials, first theorized in 2022, have a structure that sits somewhere in between. Each individual magnetic moment points in the opposite direction as its neighbor, as in an antiferromagnetic material. But each unit is slightly twisted relative to this adjacent magnetic atom, resulting in some ferromagnetic-like properties.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/physics-mathematics/scientists-discover-new-3rd-form-of-magnetism-that-may-be-the-missing-link-in-the-quest-for-superconductivity

[Igel]

1. Silly me, thinking that there were also diamagnetism and paramagnetism.

Sloppy reporting.

Interesting research, pending verification, and potentially useful. But even my freshman physics course back in 1977-78 included discussion of the now non-existent para- and diamagnetism. (Writer's an organic chemist, PhDed, but still....)