It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
Originally posted by Blackmarketeer
New kind of magnetism discovered: Experiments demonstrate 'quantum spin liquid'
(phys.org)
Following up on earlier theoretical predictions, MIT researchers have now demonstrated experimentally the existence of a fundamentally new kind of magnetic behavior, adding to the two previously known states of magnetism.
"We're showing that there is a third fundamental state for magnetism," says MIT professor of physics Young Lee. The experimental work showing the existence of this new state, called a quantum spin liquid (QSL), is reported this week in the journal Nature, with Lee as the senior author and Tianheng Han, who earned his PhD in physics at MIT earlier this year, as lead author.
The QSL is a solid crystal, but its magnetic state is described as liquid: Unlike the other two kinds of magnetism, the magnetic orientations of the individual particles within it fluctuate constantly, resembling the constant motion of molecules within a true liquid.
There's a second article on this topic at Phys.org as well;
For newly discovered 'quantum spin liquid', the beauty is in its simplicity
(Phys.org)—A research team including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has confirmed long-standing suspicions among physicists that electrons in a crystalline structure called a kagome (kah-go-may) lattice can form a "spin liquid," a novel quantum state of matter in which the electrons' magnetic orientation remains in a constant state of change.
See also:
MIT discovers a new state of matter, a new kind of magnetism
(extremetech.com)
New Kind of Magnetism Discovered: Experiments Demonstrate ‘quantum Spin Liquid'
(sciencedaily.com)
These 'strong interactions (between electrons of this newly created crystal matter) allow for long-range quantum entanglement' (according to Lee), which is where two electrons (an entangled pair) will vibrate in concert even when separated across large distances - as I read it, particles on one side of the crystal affected the magnetic moment of particles on the other side instantaneously, and always in a state of flux. Always a bit interesting when a 'new fundamental state' of anything is discovered, even if it's largely academic.
Originally posted by Blackmarketeer
reply to post by rickymouse
Good catch, like that link better than the topic itself, lol - at least it's more practical to me. Something like that would be extremely useful not only for survival/prepper reasons but just to cut the umbilical cord to utilities. I have a few hand-cranked flashlights/radios but something that can go for a half-hour with minimal fuss is gold to me.
Ummm.....maybe it's just considered solid because it's liquid state is in slow suspension viscosity....like glass...it is a crystal after all.
Originally posted by Blackmarketeer
reply to post by Raelsatu
It definitely has uses right out of 'Star Trek', but no doubt it's much too premature for that sort of speculation.
I'm still fascinated by what they claim is happening here - in my layperson's view, it's a solid piece of matter (the crystal) yet the magnetic properties are as if it were a liquid, like say a liquid metal, and changes within this magnetic field can be instantaneous between separate parts. Dunno what the implications of all that are, but sounds cool...
Originally posted by AfterInfinity
I'm a little exasperated at how this proves how little we know. We're still discovering the universe, and everyone thinks we already have all the answers. Better yet, the people who AREN'T paid to be right think we have all the answers. I guess it's pretty easy to say that sort of thing when the world doesn't call you out on it.
Originally posted by RussianScientists
I don't think this is going to be that great of a discovery. First of all, if it was a great discovery, they would have told everyone how powerful their new magnet is; this they didn't do. But... I do like to hear about scientific discoveries no matter how small or insignificant they may be, so S&F.
Originally posted by XL5
Biigs, yeah, I overlooked that part. Though, if some atoms or molecules can flip, I'm betting all of them can be aligned and flipped at the same time, they did say the magic Q word after all.
Aleister, I wouldn't want them to shelf it tooo fast lol.
Originally posted by XL5
If it flips its magnetic poles at random with no power input, you have free energy. You would just put a transformer core around it and wind some wires around it and get energy from the coil.
If it flips its poles when a similar piece some distance away is put in an alternating magnetic field, you have energy teleportation. That would solve the battery problem as the battery could be charging all the time.