Geologists discover rocks with the oldest evidence yet of Earth’s magnetic field
Researchers at MIT in the USA and Oxford University in the UK have discovered ancient rocks in Greenland that could extend the known timeline of Earth’s magnetic field.
Our surprising magnetic galaxy
From University of Tokyo 12/01/24 A team of astronomers including those from the University of Tokyo created the first-ever map of magnetic field structures within a spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy. Previous studies on galactic magnetic fields only gave a very general picture, but the new study reveals that magnetic fields in the […]
Unconventional magnets: stress reduces frustration
From TU Wien 07/01/24 Magnetism occurs depending on how electrons behave. For example, the elementary particles can generate an electric current with their charge and thereby induce a magnetic field. However, magnetism can also arise through the collective alignment of the magnetic moments (spins) in a material. What has not been possible until now, however, […]
When is an aurora not an aurora?
From University of California – Berkeley 13/12/23 The shimmering green, red and purple curtains of the northern and southern lights — the auroras — may be the best-known phenomena lighting up the nighttime sky, but the most mysterious are the mauve and white streaks called Steve and their frequent companion, a glowing green “picket fence.” […]
Removal of magnetic spacecraft contamination within extraterrestrial samples easily carried out, innovators say
From Stanford University 29/10/23 For decades, scientists have pondered the mystery of the moon’s ancient magnetism. Based on analyses of lunar samples, its now-deceased magnetic field may have been active for more than 1.5 billion years – give or take a billion years. Scientists believe it was generated like the Earth’s via a dynamo process, […]
Rice-engineered material can reconnect severed nerves
From Rice University 29/10/23 Researchers have long recognized the therapeutic potential of using magnetoelectrics ⎯ materials that can turn magnetic fields into electric fields ⎯ to stimulate neural tissue in a minimally invasive way and help treat neurological disorders or nerve damage. The problem, however, is that neurons have a hard time responding to the […]
