the uranium magnet

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A New Type of Magnet

Scientists have made a new magnet out of a uranium compound, USb2. Uranium is a heavy metal. It is element number 92 on the periodic table and is the element used in nuclear powerplants. Uranium has many isotopes in addition to the radioactive versions that are used for nuclear power. This new kind of magnet is made out of a special uranium compound that combines uranium (U - element 92) with antimony (Sb - element 51).

Magnetism is based on the spin and alignment of electrons. Electrical currents can be used to create magnets in metals. This magnet is based on a theory originating in the 1960s. Heat can destroy the magnetic properties of metal by disorganizing the alignment and spin of electrons. The theory was that temperature could be used to make non-magnetic materials become magnetic.

After years of work, Andrew Wray at New York University and his colleagues found that a compound created in the lab out of uranium and antimony can be converted into a magnet even though it is usually not magnetic. Non-magnetic compounds have particles that are in a variety of different alignments and usually locked in place by the surrounding particles. At extremely low temperatures, under the right conditions, Wray’s group found a way to excite the particles in USb2 and have them align in a way that makes the material magnetic.

One of the reasons this is exciting is that in the past, transitioning non-magnetic materials into magnets has required extremely low temperatures. Wray’s group was able to achieve this at -70oC, hundreds of degrees warmer than previously. It is almost like being able to turn on a switch and suddenly transform a non-magnet into a magnet. Magnets are used in power generators and in data storage technologies. Because these magnets can switch their state so easily, it can be beneficial for increasing computing speed and decreasing the power needed in computer memory technology.


Scientists discover new type of magnet
In a normal magnetic material, dense magnetic moments try to align with their neighbors (left). By contrast, in a singlet-based material, unstable magnetic moments pop in and out of existence and stick to one another in aligned clumps

magnets


https://phys.org/news/2019-02-scientists-magnet.html   

https://www.livescience.com/64729-new-uranium-singlet-magnet.html 


https://www.newscientist.com/article/2193032-theres-a-weird-new-type-of-magnet-that-shouldnt-be-able-to-exist/ 

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