Science never ceases to surprise us, it’s something we already know, but just when we thought we knew everything about magnetism, a team of researchers has discovered a third type of magnetism, completely unexpected, and that could change the future of technology. They have called it altermagnetism, and although it sounds like a concept taken from a science fiction movie, it is very real, and it combines the best of two worlds: the stability of antiferromagnetic materials and the storage capacity of ferromagnetic materials. We will translate this into human language in case you didn’t understand anything: this new magnetism could transform high-speed memory devices. The most surprising thing is that this discovery could be the key to creating ultra-fast electronic devices.
If you have trouble imagining what this means, think of computers that process data at a speed never seen before or mobile phones with batteries that last much longer. Let’s explain what this discovery is about, why it is so important and how it could change the future of technology, let’s go!
What is altermagnetism and why is it revolutionary?
Until now and for decades, scientists have known about two main types of magnetism:
- Ferromagnetism: This is what allows magnets to stick to the refrigerator and the basic principle behind hard drives. In these materials, atoms align their magnetic fields in the same direction.
- Antiferromagnetism: In these materials, atoms have magnetic fields that cancel each other out, making them resistant to external interference.
And yet, altermagnetism,
is a completely new category in which atoms have an alignment similar to antiferromagnetics, but with a slight twist in their crystal structure. We know it’s difficult to understand, but this combination allows us to take advantage of the best of both worlds because it creates advanced technologies that go beyond traditional limitations.
Where was this discovered?
A team of researchers from the University of Nottingham have been the first to discover the first real evidence of this altermagnetism in a material called manganese telluride (a chemical compound that has magnetic properties). To see it better, they used a special technique of electron microscopy and X-rays to see how the atoms behaved at a microscopic level, and there it was, to their surprise, a new form of magnetism with properties never seen before.
How could this new magnetism change our lives?
If scientists manage to harness this new type of magnetism, it could have many applications, here are some of them:
- Ultra-fast and efficient computers (Data could be stored and moved faster, making devices faster and consume less energy.
- Longer-lasting batteries (because if energy is used more efficiently, devices could last much longer without needing to be constantly recharged)
- It could help improve the transmission of electricity without energy losses, something that would revolutionize the industry.
The Einstein-de Haas effect
This phenomenon was discovered in 1915 by Albert Einstein and Wander de Haas, and it demonstrated a direct connection between magnetism and the motion of atoms. Basically, when the magnetization of a material is changed, the atoms in that material move or spin in response, because the system must conserve its angular momentum (a property related to spin and motion).
This effect is very important to understanding altermagnetism, but it is proof that there is still much to discover about how our world works, and who knows, maybe this discovery will be the key to inventions that seem like science fiction today! The most exciting thing is that this discovery is just the beginning. How far will altermagnetism take us? The future will tell us!!