https://phys.org/physics-news/materials en-us The latest news on Physics, Materials, Science and Technology A common metal paper clip will stick to a magnet. Scientists classify such iron-containing materials as ferromagnets. A little over a century ago, physicists Albert Einstein and Wander de Haas reported a surprising effect with a ferromagnet. If you suspend an iron cylinder from a wire and expose it to a magnetic field, it will start rotating if you simply reverse the direction of the magnetic field. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-scientists-unusual-ultrafast-motion-layered.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Wed, 02 Aug 2023 13:17:30 EDT news610201043 Electronic devices typically use the charge of electrons, but spin—their other degree of freedom—is starting to be exploited. Spin defects make crystalline materials highly useful for quantum-based devices such as ultrasensitive quantum sensors, quantum memory devices, or systems for simulating the physics of quantum effects. Varying the spin density in semiconductors can lead to new properties in a material—something researchers have long wanted to explore—but this density is usually fleeting and elusive, thus hard to measure and control locally. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-microscopic-density-materials.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Wed, 02 Aug 2023 10:39:34 EDT news610191567 Everyday life involves the three dimensions (3D), along an X, Y and Z axis, or up and down, left and right, and forward and back. But in recent years scientists, like Guoliang Huang, the Huber and Helen Croft Chair in Engineering at the University of Missouri, have explored a "fourth dimension" (4D), or synthetic dimension, as an extension of our current physical reality. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-scientists-approach-energy-4d.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Mon, 31 Jul 2023 14:53:02 EDT news610033981 Many substances change their properties when they are cooled below a certain critical temperature. Such a phase transition occurs, for example, when water freezes. However, in certain metals there are phase transitions that do not exist in the macrocosm. They arise because of the special laws of quantum mechanics that apply in the realm of nature's smallest building blocks. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-electrons-slowly-cooling-effect-unique.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Mon, 31 Jul 2023 11:58:04 EDT news610023482 Topology plays an enormous role in modern condensed matter physics and beyond. It describes how solid materials can combine two very different and somewhat contradictory properties—for example, topological insulators are materials whose bulk acts as an insulator, but whose surfaces and edges can conduct electricity nonetheless. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-evidence-universal-topological-signatures-high.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Mon, 31 Jul 2023 10:57:03 EDT news610019821 Merons, topological structures based on in-plane magnetized magnetic materials, could have numerous valuable applications, particularly for carrying information or storing magnetic charge. Most past realizations of these structures, however, were limited in size and thermal stability or had impractical requirements, such as the application of external magnetic fields. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-millimeter-scale-meron-lattices-injectors.html Condensed Matter Mon, 31 Jul 2023 09:29:08 EDT news610014541 Researchers have explored the evolution of systems of interacting spins, as they transition from random to orderly alignments. Through new simulations, they show that this evolution can be investigated by measuring the changing strength of the system's magnetism. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-ising-magnetization.html General Physics Condensed Matter Fri, 28 Jul 2023 13:43:33 EDT news609770610 MIT scientists and colleagues have created a simple superconducting device that could transfer current through electronic devices much more efficiently than is possible today. As a result, the new diode, a kind of switch, could dramatically cut the amount of energy used in high-power computing systems, a major problem that is estimated to become much worse. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-team-simple-superconducting-device-energy.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Fri, 28 Jul 2023 09:14:57 EDT news609754492 Nearly every material, whether it is solid, liquid, or gas, expands when its temperature goes up and contracts when its temperature goes down. This property, called thermal expansion, makes a hot air balloon float, and the phenomenon has been harnessed to create thermostats that automatically turn a home furnace on and off. Railroads, bridges, and buildings are designed with this property in mind, and they are given room to expand without buckling or breaking on a hot day. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-alloys-dont-size.html Condensed Matter Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:55:59 EDT news609688553 Researchers at Leipzig University have developed a highly efficient method to investigate systems with long-range interactions that were previously puzzling to experts. These systems can be gases or even solid materials such as magnets whose atoms interact not only with their neighbors but also far beyond. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-physicists-breakthrough-monte-carlo-simulations.html General Physics Condensed Matter Thu, 27 Jul 2023 12:09:05 EDT news609678539 Novel magnetic memories are energy-efficient and robust. They are based on ferromagnets with operating frequencies in the gigahertz range. The operating frequency could be further increased with antiferromagnets, which, however, cannot be efficiently excited. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-magnetic-heterostructure-generates-higher-frequencies.html Condensed Matter Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:53:02 EDT news609587579 Some of our most important everyday items, such as computers, medical equipment, stereos, generators, and more, work because of magnets. We know what happens when computers become more powerful, but what might be possible if magnets became more versatile? What if one could change a physical property that defined their usability? What innovation might that catalyze? https://phys.org/news/2023-07-anomalous-hall-effect-berry-curvature.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:25:57 EDT news609585953 New theoretical and experimental physics research shows the first ever creation of a diverse range of fine-sized, special polarization structures known as solitons in a multiferroic material. While solitons have been previously identified in pure ferroelectrics—or materials with polarization—this range of solitons had not been shown to exist in multiferroic materials, in which magnetic spin exists in addition to polarization. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-class-tiny-polarization-solitons.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:16:03 EDT news609585361 The way that water molecules behave in proton conducting materials is very important for understanding—and making the most of—their properties. This means being able to look at very rapid snapshots to catch changes in the water motion. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-bromide-ions-ripples-semiclathrate-hydrates.html General Physics Condensed Matter Wed, 26 Jul 2023 09:59:02 EDT news609584341 A research group from the National Time Service Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a hybrid high-stability atomic spin oscillator based on a Rb-Xe atomic comagnetometer. The research was published in the journal Physical Review Applied on July 14. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-atomic-oscillator-high-stability.html Condensed Matter Wed, 26 Jul 2023 09:49:02 EDT news609583741 Looking only at their subatomic particles, most materials can be placed into one of two categories. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-quantum-avalanche-nonconductors-conductors.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Mon, 24 Jul 2023 17:02:27 EDT news609436937 In a recent publication in the journal Advanced Materials Interfaces, the research team led by first author Dr. Philip Schädlich, a research associate at the Professorship of Experimental Physics, presents a method for the detailed structural analysis of synthesized two-dimensional lead layers on a specially manufactured system for the first time. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-monoatomic-layers-specially-method.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Mon, 24 Jul 2023 10:36:40 EDT news609413772 Neuromorphic computers do not calculate using zeros and ones. They instead use physical phenomena to detect patterns in large data streams at blazing fast speed and in an extremely energy-efficient manner. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-team-neuromorphic.html Condensed Matter Mon, 24 Jul 2023 10:23:04 EDT news609412981 Quincke rotation is defined as the spontaneous steady rotation of a dielectric particle immersed in a dielectric solvent under a steady and uniform electric field. Electro-hydrodynamically driven active particles based on Quincke rotation are a significant model system for emergent collective behavior in non-equilibrium colloidal systems. Quincke rollers are intrinsically nonmagnetic and therefore magnetic fields cannot be used to regulate their complex dynamics. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-magnetic-quincke-rollers-torques-magnetism.html Condensed Matter Mon, 24 Jul 2023 10:10:01 EDT news609411952 A new study determines the thermal properties of advanced solid materials, based on first-principles calculations of quantum vibrations. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-thermal-properties-phonon-behaviors.html Condensed Matter Fri, 21 Jul 2023 13:08:09 EDT news609163686 Superconductors—found in MRI machines, nuclear fusion reactors and magnetic-levitation trains—work by conducting electricity with no resistance at temperatures near absolute zero, or -459.67°F. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-game-changing-superconductors-machine-tools.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Fri, 21 Jul 2023 09:17:03 EDT news609149821 Visible light is a mere fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the manipulation of light waves at frequencies beyond human vision has enabled such technologies as cell phones and CT scans. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-discovery-terahertz-technology-quantum.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Thu, 20 Jul 2023 14:16:03 EDT news609081361 A research team led by Prof. Chen Xianhui from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), collaborating with the team led by Prof. Sun Jian from Nanjing University, realized a new high superconducting transition temperature of 36 K in elemental materials under high pressure. Their study was published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-highest-elemental-superconducting-transition-temperature.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Thu, 20 Jul 2023 12:12:16 EDT news609073934 A team of physicists at Université Paris-Saclay has, for the first time, observed spontaneous quasi-crystal self-assembly. The observation occurred during an experiment they were conducting with tiny vibrating magnetic spheres. The team has written a paper describing their experiment and have posted it on the arXiv preprint server while they await peer review. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-spontaneous-quasi-crystal-self-assembly-tiny-vibrating.html Condensed Matter Soft Matter Wed, 19 Jul 2023 12:10:01 EDT news608986975 Skyrmions are microscopic magnetic vortices that can form in certain materials. First detected in 2009, they are of interest to researchers because they could be harnessed for new forms of data storage. As theoreticians predicted, there are also so-called antiskyrmions, which were discovered 10 years after skyrmions. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-tailor-made-magnetic-vortex-closer-special.html Condensed Matter Wed, 19 Jul 2023 09:43:03 EDT news608978581 A team led by Prof. Guo Guoping and Prof. Cao Gang from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), collaborating with Sigmund Kohler from Materials Science Institute of Madrid, have developed a response theory applicable to strongly coupled and multiqubit systems. Their study was published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-theory-periodically-driven-quantum-dotcavity.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Tue, 18 Jul 2023 11:26:02 EDT news608898361 A team of scientists has devised a system that replicates the movement of naturally occurring phenomena, such as hurricanes and algae, using laser beams and the spinning of microscopic rotors. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-scientists-movement-microparticles.html General Physics Condensed Matter Thu, 13 Jul 2023 10:39:48 EDT news608463584 Icy planets, such as Uranus (U) and Neptune (N), are found in both our solar system and other solar systems across the universe. Nonetheless, these planets, characterized by a thick atmosphere and a mantle made of volatile materials (e.g., hydrogen water, ammonia, etc.), are the least explored class of planets; thus so far little is known about their origin, interior structure and composition. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-superionic-ammonia-icy-planetary-interior.html Condensed Matter Mon, 10 Jul 2023 12:30:01 EDT news608210823 A team from Ames National Laboratory conducted an in-depth investigation of the magnetism of TbMn6Sn6, a Kagome layered topological magnet. They were surprised to find that the magnetic spin reorientation in TbMn6Sn6 occurs by generating increasing numbers of magnetically isotropic ions as the temperature increases. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-discovery-magnetic-interactions-kagome-layered.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Mon, 10 Jul 2023 12:26:30 EDT news608210788 Water flows, ice is rigid—this clear difference between the liquid and solid state of substances is part of our everyday experience. It follows from the very regular arrangement of atoms and molecules in crystalline solids, which is lost when they melt. Less clear, however, is the structure of "liquid crystals"—highly interesting states that combine order and disorder in such a way that important applications such as LCDs (liquid crystal displays) are possible. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-laser-pulse-exotic-quantum-material.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Fri, 07 Jul 2023 10:23:04 EDT news607944182