You’ve likely played with magnets before, sticking them to your fridge or using them in fun science experiments.
The metals that stick to magnets are called ferromagnets, and they have been well understood for a long time.
But now, scientists have discovered something new and unusual in a different type of magnetic material that could be used in future technology.
What’s the Discovery?
In a recent experiment, researchers from Argonne National Laboratory and other institutions in the U.S. studied a special kind of magnetic material called an antiferromagnet.
They found that when they aimed ultrafast laser pulses at it, the material reacted in a way that nobody expected: its layers began to slide back and forth at a speed so fast it’s hard to imagine.
This ultrafast movement could be used in super-precise and super-fast devices like tiny motors inside robots for medical surgeries.
Ferromagnets vs. Antiferromagnets
Most people are familiar with ferromagnets like iron, where all the tiny particles called electrons point in the same direction.
If you reverse a magnetic field around it (like flipping a magnet), the direction of the particles changes and can make things like iron cylinders rotate without touching them.
Antiferromagnets, on the other hand, are a bit stranger. In these materials, the electrons point in opposite directions, canceling each other out. This means they don’t respond to magnetic fields in the same way regular magnets do.
The scientists wanted to find out if they could get a reaction from an antiferromagnet, similar to what happens with regular magnets. They used a special layered material called iron phosphorus trisulfide (FePS3) and shot it with incredibly fast laser pulses.
What they found was amazing. The laser pulses mixed up the orderly directions of the electrons, causing the layers of the material to slide back and forth rapidly. This motion happens in just 10 to 100 picoseconds per movement, where a picosecond is one trillionth of a second!
This discovery might sound like a curiosity, but it has big implications. The fast movement of the layers in this special material could be used in devices that need very fast and very precise control. Think of tiny robots that could perform surgeries inside the body with minimal invasion or other advanced technology that requires precision at the nanoscale.
Making these discoveries wasn’t easy.
It required the use of cutting-edge technology at some of the most advanced scientific facilities in the world, including ultrafast electron microscopes and powerful X-ray beams.
This study has opened a new door in understanding how antiferromagnets behave, especially in their layered form. By controlling their motion with magnetic fields or tiny strains, the scientists believe that this finding can be used in nanoscale devices.
In a world where technology keeps advancing, discoveries like this offer exciting prospects. Who would have thought that something as simple as a magnet could lead to something so complex and fascinating?
The potential applications of this research could lead to innovations that transform medicine, engineering, and more. This “magic show” of science reveals the endless possibilities that lie ahead.
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Source: Argonne National Laboratory.
