HANOVER, N.H., April 17 (UPI) -- U.S. physicists say they have discovered the element chromium has magnetic properties -- a finding that might lead to new data-storage technologies.
"The phenomena that we have discovered are likely to lead to new applications of chromium," said Dartmouth University Associate Professor Yeong-Ah Soh, who led the study.
She said she discovered chromium displays different electrical properties upon heating and cooling. The differences reflect subtle internal rearrangements of the electrons and their spins.
In ferromagnets -- the kind of magnets one might see on a refrigerator -- the spins of electrons interact with each other leading to alignment, she said. In anti-ferromagnets, however, the interactions between neighboring electron spins are opposed.
"Our research opens the entire new field of controlled electrical effects at a slightly-larger-than-quantum scale in anti-ferromagnets," Soh said. "The findings show that not only ferromagnets can be used in spintronics; there is a possibility anti-ferromagnets can also be employed to manipulate and store information."
The study that included former post-doctoral researcher Ravi Kummamuru is reported in the journal Nature.
| Additional News Stories | |
LONDON, Dec. 8 (UPI) --
Two British climate scientists involved in a hacking incident have received death threats since their e-mail messages were made public, officials said.
|
NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (UPI) --
U.S. television personality Bryant Gumbel Tuesday revealed he recently underwent surgery after he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
|
PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 8 (UPI) --
NASA engineers attempting to free the Mars rover Spirit from loose Martian sand since April say the results of their attempts so far are not encouraging.
|
|