Tiny magnets, huge fields: Nanoscale ferromagnetic electrodes create chemical equivalent of solid-state spin valve
Thursday, July 31, 2014 - 08:00
in Physics & Chemistry
In the study of ways to determine the position of and manipulate magnetic nanoparticles – a capability that would benefit a wide range of applications – there's good news and bad: While a magnetic gradient force field (a magnetic field that varies with respect to position) can accomplish this, it is limited in its ability to affect most paramagnetic materials – that is, materials that respond to magnetic fields, but do not retain magnetic properties when those fields are removed – the exception being sufficiently small magnetic nanoparticles, which can behave like paramagnets at room temperature due to thermal agitation (an effect known as superparamagnetism).