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Discovered: High-Temperature Non-Metal Magnet

Posted by timothy on from the buckeyballs-can-do-anything dept.

Wonko42 writes: "Russian scientists who were trying to produce high-temperature superconductors accidentally created the first non-metallic magnet that is magnetic at room temperature (and up to 200 degrees Celsius). Previously, non-metallic magnets tended to lose their magnetism at -255 degrees Celsius. The magnet was created by superheating and pressurizing buckyballs to join them together as a sheet. The technology is ideal for use in magnetic storage devices, and could also be used in chips. The material is also photo-sensitive, which means it could be used as an optical storage medium as well. Yay for buckyballs!"

29 comments

  1. Interesting... by Drakin · · Score: 1

    Although my first thought was "WTF is a
    bucky ball?"

    Just proves that if the results arn't what you expect, it doesn't mean it's useless...

    1. Re:Interesting... by Lord+Sauron · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Buckyballs are your friend.

      They can fight many different types of nerve damage, they may help treating cancer, they can be superconductors at high temperature (now imagine a bewolf cluster of these!), and lots more.

      From The R. Buckminster Fuller FAQ:

      The exciting part of the discovery of C60 molecules is that they are only the third naturally occurring form of carbon to be found (graphite and diamond of course being the first two). C60 was first isolated from graphite (I think) in 1985.

      As Paul Houle writes, C60 is formed in the shape of a geodesic sphere (like the panels of a soccer ball), hence the name ``buckminsterfullerene'' or ``buckyballs'' for short. Each carbon has three sp2 hybrid orbitals and the fourth electron of each carbon resides in a delocalized pi orbital that ranges over the entire ball (like benzene).

      The physical appearance of C60 is very much similar to graphite, as are some of its physical properties. C60, unlike graphite, can be dissolved in benzene to form a translucent amber solution.

      Other developments of buckyballs:

      1) Radicalization - Besides just the pure C60 form, researchers at Rice have added hydrogen molecules to the carbon junctures to form molecules such as C60H36. Also, work is progressing on making C60 radical groupings (similar to benzene -> phenol).

      2) Property measurement - Although many of the properties of C60 are known, most of the properties of its compounds are still hazy.

      3) Higher molecules - Other stable forms with greater numbers of carbons have been isolated as well, including C70, C72, and a couple of others I can't remember. All of these have geodesic shapes as classified by Buckminster Fuller and look like lopsided versions of the normal C60 molecule.

      4) Ionization - One can trap metallic ions such as Fe++ and Mg++ in the cage of the C60 to make the molecule act as a very large ion.

      5) Superconductivity - As far as I know, the 18K Tc for C60 is the correct figure. This of course is much lower than high-temperature superconductors, but this fact may be used in some way at a later date.

      Buckminsterfullerene (C60) is becoming ever easier to get in quantity and shows many interesting optical properties. It stops light -- the brighter the light the more effectively it stops it. Nano and pico-second laser pulses are effectively and instantly opaqued by small quantities of C60. A helmet visor treated with fullerene will instantly block an incoming laser beam -- the stronger the ray, the faster the face glass turns dark (cooler than those ``photosensitive'' sunglasses) (Patterson AFB in Ohio is studying such applications). Many other optical properties of the fullerenes are under study.

      However, C60 remains forty times more expensive than gold. As Smalley put it ``it's the yield, stupid'' -- i.e. the central issue facing fullerene researchers, in Smalley's opinion, is how to get more of it. The Smalley team approach of using parabolic mirrors to sun-generate fullerenes (to produce ``sunnyballs'') appears to be a potentially promising approach. Concentrated sunlight has less of the damaging frequencies in high-powered lasers that apparently to inhibit fullerene formation from vaporized carbon).
      Fullerene is quite reactive and can be used as a building block in other structures. In some crystal formations, doped with potassium for example, it conducts electricity with no resistance (is a superconductor).

    2. Re:Interesting... by perlyking · · Score: 1, Troll

      You forgot to credit your cut and paste source :p

      What are fullerenes and buckyballs?

      --
      no sig.
    3. Re:Interesting... by perlyking · · Score: 1

      Arg, sorry you did. I need to read slower.

      --
      no sig.
  2. Reasons why the Russians had it easy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Here's predicting the (ever so slightly arrogant) posts containing all the reasons why this was *so* much easier to do outside the US, which is why it hasn't been done there...

    (Note: see past Slashdot's re. large network in Europe and pretty much any other achievement not based in the US)

    1. Re:Reasons why the Russians had it easy... by s0l0m0n · · Score: 1

      Hmm..

      Russians seem to do pretty good with carbon.. As far as I know they are the only ones giving DeBeers a run for thier moneywith artifical diamonds..

      so, no russian bashing for me.. they have enough problems.

      Plus, it's cool that scientists who are probably drasticaly underfunded are coming up with stuff that the US labs haven't.

  3. Ceramic Magnets at RadioShack? by Schnake · · Score: 2, Interesting
    You can get Ceramic Magnets at the local RadioShack, up here in Canada. And very powerful I might add!

    Isn't a ceramic magnet a non-metallic room-temperature magnet?

    1. Re:Ceramic Magnets at RadioShack? by Eigenray · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but the ones in the article are magnetic at room temperature.

    2. Re:Ceramic Magnets at RadioShack? by irony+nazi · · Score: 1
      Ceramic mangets are indeed "non-metallic".

      Although I didn't read the article, ceramic magnets have existed throughout all time. The very first materials that human discovered to be magnets were Lodestones. These are indeed ceramic (i.e. non-metallic).

      I'll read the article now, but the poster of this story is very inaccurate. But what do I know? I only have a Masters degree in Ceramics Engineering.

      --

      Bringing irony to the Slash-masses
    3. Re:Ceramic Magnets at RadioShack? by Insightfill · · Score: 2, Informative
      Actually, "ceramic" is a generic word that can mean all sorts of things, including metal particles in the composition.

      The term comes from the Greek word for "pottery", which in turn comes from the Sanskrit word for "burnt stuff."

      The following site has a nice chart showing various compositions of some ceramic magnets. Check the following official folks for the full scoop.

    4. Re:Ceramic Magnets at RadioShack? by Stone+Rhino · · Score: 1

      lodestones are not ceramic. they were in fact stones made of magnetic materials.

      --


      Remember, there were no nuclear weapons before women were allowed to vote.
    5. Re:Ceramic Magnets at RadioShack? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      You're right, but it spoils the point of the post and as such is considered rude.

    6. Re:Ceramic Magnets at RadioShack? by monkeydo · · Score: 2

      I don't have a Master's Degree in ceramics engineering, but I do have google and according to this site Lodestones are composed of Iron ore which would make them metallic.

      --
      Si vis pacem, para bellum
      The only thing more annoying than a Libertarian is an (un|mis)informed Libertarian
    7. Re:Ceramic Magnets at RadioShack? by irony+nazi · · Score: 1
      Wow! So many people have replied to my comment, and they all came to the wrong conclusion.

      Sure, Lodestone is a rock...
      ...that is composed of Iron Ore...
      ...that IS a ceramic!

      Iron = metal
      Iron ore = ceramic.
      Since I am still outnumbered in my general conclusion, and dictionary.com is being used against me, allow me to quote Brady's "Materials Handbook, 14th edition":

      Magnetite, or magnetic iron ore, is found in northern New York, in New Jersey, and in Pennsylvania. It has composition FeO x Fe2O3, containing containing theoretically 72.4% iron but usually only about 62. ... <snip> ... The natural magnet known as lodestone is magnetite.

      So there you have it. Iron Ore is magnetite is FeO and Fe2O3... both of which are ceramic materials.

      You sillies! It doesn't become a metal until it has been reduced... via a smelting process.

      If anyone chooses to use dictionary.com for technical definitions, I would like to point out that teeth (another ceramic) are never molded and baked while the most common forms of plastics are molded and baked. Cookies are baked, while Ceramics are sintered

      --

      Bringing irony to the Slash-masses
    8. Re:Ceramic Magnets at RadioShack? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Hahaha

      I just now got your joke Eigenray, and I originally read your comment two days ago.

      ...had to do a Article search just so that I could find this story in order to reply to your comment and let you know.

    9. Re:Ceramic Magnets at RadioShack? by Fjandr · · Score: 2

      Actually, several of them were not wrong. It's you who are wrong in a couple of your conclusions.

      The term "metal" can refer to any of a number of elements, Iron among them. "Metallic" refers to a substance of or containing metal, so anything containing iron qualifies as metallic. Ceramic magnets are made with ferrite elements, hence ceramic magnets are metallic.

      Oh, and "sintered" means "pressed and baked", so the last paragraph really has no point. And teeth are not a ceramic, as teeth are not made of clay, mud, or similar materials. If you really wanted to get picky, you could go so far as to say that teeth and ceramic are related /by/ sinter, but a pun is about as close as it gets. I'll leave it to you to figure out that correlation. It's not too hard if you know where to look. Hasta!

  4. Re:First Post by byron_c_peterson · · Score: 1

    big deal...i mean, really...you have a low sense of self-esteem or something?

  5. Isocrystals? by SkywalkerOS8 · · Score: 1

    The article says its transparent, sounds like isocrystals to me.

    1. Re:Isocrystals? by Blob+Pet · · Score: 1

      A buckminster fullerine is shaped like a soccer ball. That is, it is a molecule composed of 60 carbon atoms. Because of how the the carbon atoms are bonded to each other, in this configuration, I don't think it's actually possible to crystalize bucky balls.

      --
      "...today consumers have been conditioned to think of beer when they see a bullfrog..."
    2. Re:Isocrystals? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Buckyballs typically crystallize into a cubic close packed structure. They don't have much in the way of bonding between the molecules (essentially van der Walls, I assume), but they do crystallize.

  6. I love Buckyballs by TheGreatGraySkwid · · Score: 1

    I mean, really. It seems like every couple of weeks there's a new story about people finding new amazing properties of some form of them, or doing amazing things with their known properties.
    Buckminster Fuller has got to have the least post-mortem rotational momentum of anyone with something named after them.

    --
    The Humblest Mollusk on the Net
  7. DOH! The link... by Insightfill · · Score: 2, Informative
    Yeah, I know - preview, preview, preview. I removed the "chart" link and wanted this one instead:

    http://www.acers.org/acers/aboutceramics.asp

  8. More information... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Good links for additional info:
    http://www.physicstoday.org/pt/vol-54/iss-12/p18 .h tml
    http://physicsweb.org/article/news/5/10/11
    http://www.nature.com (search for vol. 413 p. 716)

    A lot less hype here. Worth a read. Unless a lot has changed in the last couple month, this looks not at all promissing for data storage. Squareness of the hysteresis loop is way too low. Just a good way to get press attention.

    A point of clarification from the first link:
    It's not that the magnet is non-metallic, but that it contains no metallic atoms. Lodestones are not metallic, but contain iron. This is supposedly pure carbon. Definitions of ceramics can be debated some other day.

  9. Lodestone != ceramic by TechnoLust · · Score: 1

    Lodestone is comprised of iron ore. Lookup Ceramic and you will see it means molded and baked. So if your assertion that ceramics have existed for all time, then we can postulate that humans have existed for all time. This is ludicrous. You got your Masters (in Ceramics? yeah, right) from where? CrakerJack University?

    --
    "Da ist ein Technölüst in mein Unterpanten!"
  10. This is not the first non metal magnet... by TechnoLust · · Score: 2, Informative

    These guys in Nebraska did it. They made plastic magnets, just not very high yield yet.

    --
    "Da ist ein Technölüst in mein Unterpanten!"