Physicist Creates Most Magnetic Material on Earth, Might Overturn Laws of Physics.

[Afkeu]

"A more powerful magnetic material may have emerged to topple previous record-holder iron cobalt, until now the most magnetic material on Earth. The new iron and nitrogen compound might also force physicists to revise their understanding of magnetism, according to the Minnesota Daily.
The iron and nitrogen compound proved 18 percent more magnetic than iron cobalt in tests done by Jianping Wang, a physicist at the University of Minnesota. There also appears to be a "new physics" at work in the substance, but physicists at other labs must replicate the experiment and verify the work.
Wang reportedly found localized electrons in his iron and nitrogen compound, which have never shown up before in magnetic materials. Localized electrons are electron-pair bonds shared by nonmetals, as opposed to the free-flowing electrons typically related to magnetism and electric current.
Some physicists suspect that localized electrons, rather than free-flowing electrons, are more responsible for magnetism in materials. The discovery also appears to overturn traditional theories that set limits on the strength of magnetism in substances.
Japanese researchers at the Central Research Laboratory of Hitachi also created a magnetic iron and nitrogen compound in 1996, but no other scientists were able to get the same results. Wang has taken special care to allow other scientists to duplicate his experimental setup.
If the findings hold up, they could lead to a significant boost in magnetic materials that allow for more efficient power generation and transmission."
Physicist Creates Most Magnetic Material on Earth, Might Overturn Laws of Physics | Popular Science


This is amazing if Jianping Wang turns out to be correct and his results are confirmed!! Just like the person who commented on the article, I agree this could have many monumental implications in many different fields!

[Fighter-of-Wars]

I just read this on the AF.

I hope that this turns out to be true. just imagine 18% more efficient generators, motors, and other electrical equipment just like that, and who knows how much better it could get after more research on the compound.

Truely a great discovery to say the least.

[Thorinair]

I think we discovered unobtainium!

[Human No More]

Definitely interesting. I hope this does lead to more efficiency

[Iluvrien]

This looks amazing. I started my bachelors degree (in physics strangely enough) in 1998 and I remember them talking in lectures about a new crop of materials that was "just around the corner". I am amazed that they were actually right.

[Fosus]

That's got to be expensive.. like Unobtanium.

[Iluvrien]

Not really that expensive. Iron and Nitrogen are abundant in the universe as both are produced naturally during the lifetimes of stars (see Stellar Nucleosynthesis). As long as the production process itself isn't too impossible, this kind of material really is likely to be a wonderful boost to the world... without the issues of Unobtanium-like options.

[txen]

I posted a link to the actual paper over on AF. Unfortunately, it's not really a usable material at this time because it's not really stable chemically. However, it might point the way to finding other materials with the same kind of properties. This material is not a permanent magnet. It's a magnetic material that can get to a 30% or so stronger field. It would have uses in electric motors, alternators (generators), and even things like hard drive read/write heads. You could make smaller more powerful motors. It's pretty easy to make an 85% efficient motor today, so there is not all that much efficiency to be gained. There still will be a little. Since there are so many motors even a 5% gain can translate into a lot of electricity savings. The larger difference is the smaller size or more power that a material like this can give.

[rapunzel77]

wow, this is a very important discovery if it is proven right. Thank you for sharing this . It definitely can help in several fields. I am wondering if it can help in the energy field. Is there a way that it can be used for more efficient power generation? Perhaps this could be an alternative energy source? Or am I sounding like the physics neophtye that I am ?

[Iluvrien]

I can think of several ways that this could be used to improve the efficiency of power generation systems, although that really is dependent on the properties of the material itself. I will have to read the paper that was linked to on AF for that.

What we really need is for this kind of discovery to be used in tandem with superconductive materials and then we would start taking some really important steps!