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There is now a new addition to the magnetic family: thanks to experiments at the Swiss Light Source SLS, researchers have proved the existence of altermagnetism. The experimental discovery of this new branch of magnetism is reported in Nature and signifies new fundamental physics, with major implications for spintronics.

Magnetism is a lot more than just things that stick to the fridge. This understanding came with the discovery of antiferromagnets nearly a century ago. Since then, the family of magnetic materials has been divided into two fundamental phases: the ferromagnetic branch known for several millennia and the antiferromagnetic branch.

The experimental proof of a third branch of magnetism, termed altermagnetism, was made at the Swiss Light Source SLS, by an international collaboration led by the Czech Academy of Sciences together with Paul Scherrer Institute PSI.

The lunar sample returned by China’s 2020 lunar mission contained minerals that provide clues to their origin. China’s Chang’e-5, the first lunar sample return mission since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 in 1976, delivered 1.73 kilograms of regolith from the Oceanus Procellarum, a plane named for its vast size. The sample landed with CE-5 in late 2020 and included a new mineral, Changesite-(Y), as well as a perplexing combination of silica minerals. Researchers now compare CE-5’s material composition to other lunar and Martian regolith samples and examine potential causes and origins for the lunar sample’s unique makeup.

Earth’s moon achieved its Swiss cheese appearance from celestial objects crashing into its surface, forming impact craters. But craters weren’t all that was left behind; the intense pressure and temperature of such a collision also impacts the rocks and dust covering the lunar surface, known as regolith, altering its mineral composition and structure. Analyzing the resulting minerals provides modern researchers clues to the moon’s past.

China’s Chang’e-5, the first lunar sample return mission since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 in 1976, delivered 1.73 kilograms of regolith from the Oceanus Procellarum, a plane named for its vast size.

Year 2022 Basically this enzyme could destroy the great garbage patch and all plastics in the ocean 😀 😍

Chemists unlock the secrets of a plastic-eating bacterium, hoping to harness them for good.

Year 2023 😗 😁

A new study published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials by researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and partners has identified a diverse microbiome of plastic-degrading fungi and bacteria in the coastal salt marshes of Jiangsu, China.

The international team of scientists counted a total of 184 fungal and 55 bacterial strains capable of breaking down polycaprolactone (PCL), a biodegradable polyester commonly used in the production of various polyurethanes. Of these, bacterial strains within the genera Jonesia and Streptomyces have the potential to further degrade other petroleum-based polymers—natural or synthetic chains of molecules bound together.

Continue reading “Plastic-eating fungi thriving in man-made ‘plastisphere’ may help tackle global waste” »

Material does not seem to pose a risk to human health, study suggests.

Researchers have demonstrated that magnetic spin waves called magnons can be controlled by voltage and thus could operate more efficiently as information carriers in future devices.

Magnonic devices are being developed to transmit signals, not with electrons, but with magnons—traveling waves in the magnetic ordering of a material. New work provides one of the missing elements of the magnonics toolbox: a voltage-controlled magnon transistor [1]. The device is made up of a magnetic insulator sandwiched between two metal plates. The researchers show that they can control the flow of magnons in the insulator through voltages applied to the plates. The results could lead to more-efficient magnonic devices.

A magnon can be imagined as a row of fixed magnetic elements, or “spins,” that tilt and rotate their orientations in a coordinated pattern. This “spin wave” can carry information through a material without involving the movement of charges, which can cause undesirable heating in a circuit. Magnonics—though still in its infancy—is a potentially energy-efficient alternative to traditional electronics, says Xiu-Feng Han from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The challenge right now for the magnonics field, he says, is developing practical versions of the four basic components of a magnonic circuit: a generator, a detector, a switch, and a transistor.

Titan’s ocean has a volume 12 times that of all Earth’s oceans, but it may be barren of life as we know it.

A groundbreaking titanium metamaterial with unparalleled strength and versatility could revolutionize manufacturing and high-speed aviation.

A lightweight, high-strength titanium material has been engineered that could lead to stronger medical devices and innovative vehicle and spacecraft designs. The research team used a common titanium alloy, Ti-6Al-4V, to construct the “metamaterial”, a term used to describe an artificial material that possesses unique properties not observed in nature — meta means “beyond” in Greek.

Many such intricate and surprisingly strong structures do exist in nature, like that of the Victoria water lily. Native to South America, this gigantic floating leaf is strong enough to support an adult owing to the unique lattice structure of it veins.

Ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism have long been known to scientists as two classes of magnetic order of materials. Back in 2019, researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) postulated a third class of magnetism, called altermagnetism. This altermagnetism has been the subject of heated debate among experts ever since, with some expressing doubts about its existence.

Recently, a team of experimental researchers led by Professor Hans-Joachim Elmers at JGU was able to measure for the first time at DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron) an effect that is considered to be a signature of altermagnetism, thus providing evidence for the existence of this third type of magnetism. The research results were published in Science Advances.