404
Scientists who discovered a third form of magnetism win major physics prize (www.sciencedaily.com)
submitted 5 days ago by to c/science@lemmy.world
73 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Physicists have uncovered a hidden third form of magnetism that challenges more than 100 years of established physics. Called altermagnetism, the discovery could transform future computing and electronics while opening an entirely new frontier in quantum research.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 2 points 4 days ago (2 children)

It seems like you understand this but I feel like I'm missing part of the concept. What does that mean in physical terms?

Like, how do the blue and orange cars relate to magnetic domains?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

    We are still working to fully understand how all of the fundamental forces emerge from their respective fields, so there's still a lot that we don't yet know about how magnetism works. Even top researchers feel like they're missing part of the concept 😅

    In the analogy, the blue and orange cars represent magnetic moments (spin) of electrons. I want to emphasize that the analogy hand-waves a lot of what is actually happening in the material in favor of simplicity.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent