Magnetic tagged posts

Why are some rocks on the moon highly magnetic?

A large impact could have briefly amplified the moon’s weak magnetic field, creating a momentary spike that was recorded in some lunar rocks. Scientists may have solved the mystery of why the moon shows ancient signs of magnetism although it has no magnetic field today. An impact, such as from a large asteroid, could have generated a cloud of ionized particles that briefly enveloped the moon and amplified its weak magnetic field.

Where did the moon’s magnetism go? Scientists have puzzled over this question for decades, ever since orbiting spacecraft picked up signs of a high magnetic field in lunar surface rocks...

The research revealed an abrupt magnetic transition brought about by the slightest change in thickness of the layer. Materials with exceptional electronic and magnetic properties are of great importance for many apps. A particularly versatile class of materials are the ‘perovskite oxides’.

Twente University researchers have discovered a special effect relating to the magnetism of one of such perovskite-oxides; lanthanum-manganese-oxide. This material consists of stackings of LaMnO3 unit cells, quite comparable to stacking of LEGO but the building blocks are only 0.4nm in size.

The new discovery is that the magnetism in these layers is switched on abruptly when the number of LaMnO3 building blocks changes from 5 to 6...