Magnetricity Discovered

Brian M. Santiago Busutil

A breakthrough in magnetism theories has been made by a team from the London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN), and the Science and Technology Facility Council’s ISIS Neutron and Muon Source. The research has proven the existence of atom-sized ‘magnetic charges’, which is being called “magnetricity”. These magnetic charges react and interact the same way electric charges do in some materials. The team has published their findings on a British scientific journal called Nature.

This phenomenon called ‘magnetricity’ demonstrates a perfect symmetry between electricity and magnetism. To prove their discovery experimentally, the researchers mapped a theory established in 1934 by a Norwegian-American physical chemist named Lars Onsager, which consisted of the movement of ions in water onto magnetic currents in a material called spin-ice. Afterwards, they tested the theory by employing a magnetic field to a spin ice sample at a very low temperature. They examined the whole process at ISIS Neutron Source using mouns. A moun is an elementary particle similar to the electron, with negative electric charge and spin of 1/2. The experiment permitted the researchers to discover magnetic charges in the spin ice (Dy2Ti2O7). They were also able to measure their currents, and to determine the elementary unit of the material’s magnetic charge. The team observed that the monopoles arise as disturbances of the magnetic state of the spin ice and can only endure inside the material. One of the paper’s co-authors, Professor Steve Bramwell from LCN, mentioned that “Magnetic monopoles were first predicted to exist in 1931, but despite many searches, they have never yet been observed as freely roaming elementary particles. These monopoles do at least exist within the spin ice sample, but not outside”.

The Chief Executive of STFC, Professor Keith Mason said: “The unequivocal proof that magnetic charge is conducted in spin ice adds significantly to our understanding of electromagnetism. Whilst we will have to wait to see what applications magnetricity will find in technology, this research shows that curiosity driven research will always have the potential to make an impact on the way we live and work. Advanced materials research depends greatly on having access to central research labs like ISIS allowing the UK science community to flourish and make exciting discoveries like this.” Dr. Sean Giblin, the instrument scientist at ISIS and also co-author of the paper mentioned that the outcome of this experiment was “astounding”. By using muons they were able to confirm that magnetic charge can really be conducted through certain materials at some temperatures. He compared this behavior to the way ions conduct electricity in water.

While it is not common in the field of physics for researchers to prove a theory unmistakably, this discovery definitely proves that a little curiosity can have a big outcome on the way we live, like Prof. Mason mentioned. This breakthrough poses a huge leap towards establishing that a magnetic charge can flow like an electricity charge. These findings could reassess current magnetism theories and considerable technological advances. Who knows what applications will magnetricity be applied to in the future!

FUN PHYSICS in a boring day

Eric Vazquez

Usually everyone is used to seeing a light bulb turn on through electricity from the wall. Stop wondering what is in that wall and make your own electricity. I’ve learned in my physics class that electrons are relatively free to jump from one atom to the next, and they're attracted to some materials more than others. In this funny story there will be three characters. Through the story I’m about to tell, we can see that people can be electric conductors as well as metal and other things. The characters in the story are called Mr. Balloon, Mr. Shinny and you, the one who is reading. And yes you don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about don’t act like your dumb because you are not. Enough of that lets begin the story. Once upon a time there you were sitting at home storming ideas because there was no class for a week and you were bored. You like your physics class a lot and it was interesting for you so you wanted to do an experiment. Suddenly something hovering over you stooped on top of your head and said, “hey you hair looks beautiful”. You asked it what are you called, it answered “I’m Mr. Balloon and I want to rub myself with your hair”. You got really nervous but you still answered yes. He started to do what he desired with your hair, RUB. While he was doing that something rolled closed to your feet it was a florescent light. It started to talk and said, “hello my name is Mr. Shinny, and can you hold me?” You answered with no hesitation, “why of course.” While Mr. Balloon was rubbing on your head, you almost dropped Mr. Shinny because it tickled your head. You were laughing so hard you took the balloon with your other hand. All of the sudden the lights the power went out, you got scared and put your hands together for no apparent reason. As you put your new friends together you noticed that Mr. Shinny, the fluorescent light, turned on. It was so amazing that it seemed impossible but that is how it is done. In this story you became you are the main reason this happened. You acted as a conductor because when you rub a balloon on your hair, electrons from your hair jump over to the balloon and stay there. The inside of a fluorescent tube is coated with a white material made up of phosphors. Inside the tube there is also mercury vapor. When electrons collide with the mercury vapor, they cause the vapor to emit ultraviolet light, which hits the phosphors and the tube lights up. Bringing a negatively charged balloon near a fluorescent tube stirs up the electrons in the mercury vapor. This produces an electrical current, which excites the mercury atoms. The excited mercury atoms emit ultraviolet light and cause the phosphors to glow. The end!