New effect couples electricity and magnetism in materials
Wednesday, November 27, 2013 - 12:50
in Physics & Chemistry
Major industries such as modern microelectronics are based on the interaction between matter and electromagnetism. Electromagnetic signals can be processed and stored in specially tailored materials. In materials science, electric and magnetic effects have usually been studied separately. There are, however, extraordinary materials called "multiferroics," in which electric and magnetic excitations are closely linked. Scientists have now shown in an experiment that magnetic properties and excitations can be influenced by an electric voltage. This opens up completely new possibilities for electronics at high frequencies.