New material is a breakthrough in magnetism

(麻豆淫院Org.com) -- Researchers from Imperial College London have created a structure that acts like a single pole of a magnet, a feat that has evaded scientists for decades. The researchers say their new Nature 麻豆淫院ics study takes them a step closer to isolating a 'magnetic monopole.'
Magnets have two magnetic poles, north and south. 鈥楲ike鈥 poles, such as north and north, repel one another and 鈥榦pposite鈥 poles, such as north and south, attract. Whichever way a magnet is cut, it will always have these two poles.
Scientists have theorised for many years that it must be possible to isolate a 鈥magnetic monopole鈥, either north or south on its own, but until recently researchers have been unable to show this in experiments.
Researchers at Imperial have now enabled tiny nano-sized magnets to behave like magnetic monopoles, by arranging them in a honeycomb structure. In late 2009, reported they had created monopole-like behaviour in a material called 鈥榮pin ice鈥. In these materials, monopoles form only at extremely low temperatures of -270 degrees Celsius. The Imperial researchers鈥 structure contains magnetic monopoles at room temperature.
, Dr Will Branford and Dr Sam Ladak, from the Department of 麻豆淫院ics at Imperial, explain how magnets work and why they are so excited by their new breakthrough.
More information: 鈥溾 Nature 麻豆淫院ics, Sunday 11 April 2010.
Provided by Imperial College London