New Magnetic Material Could Boost Electronics

Some materials are magnetic.

Other materials aren't magnetic.

I've seen non-magnetic items changed into being magnetic.

I've even seen magnetic items changed into being non-magnetic.

The idea of having an item changing back and forth from being magnetic to non-magnetic with a simple temperature change is pretty foreign to my experiences, but that's exactly what Ivan Schuller, of the U of California, San Diego has done.

To quote from the article at bbc.com,

The material combines thin layers of nickel and vanadium oxide, creating a structure that is surprisingly responsive to heat.

"We can control the magnetism in just a narrow range of temperature - without applying a magnetic field. And in principle we could also control it with voltage or current," said Prof Schuller.

"At low temperatures, the oxide is an insulator. At high temperatures it's a metal. And in between it becomes this strange material," he said.

Oh, and that's Dr Schuller there to the right.