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High-Density Magnets Created

Posted by michael on from the refrigerators-rejoice dept.

Judebert writes: "University of California, Riverside scientists have created diradical magnets: magnetic particles that have two unbonded electrons instead of just one. The problem with diradical substances is that they have always been extremely chemically active, so they never stayed around longer than a few microseconds at room temperature. The new substance is stable at room temperature, even when it's in solution. And it's not even metallic. This paves the way for newer, higher-density magnetic and magneto-optical media and devices. You can help distribute the load if you visit the text mirror instead."

3 of 30 comments (clear)

  1. This just in! by Veramocor · · Score: 4, Funny

    RIAA/MPAA just announced the second free electron will be used for DRM.

    Veramocor

    --
    Veramocor
  2. Stronger magnets are always better by mbessey · · Score: 4, Interesting

    For any application that uses magnets, higher magnetic strength is always an asset. Whether it allows you to reduce the weight of an assembly, or increase the amount of force for a given volume/weight, it's a good thing. Stronger magnets also allow you to store more data in a smaller area in a magnetic storage device, as someone else already mentioned.

    Also, these "diradical" magnets are a fundamentally different kind of material than other magnets, which means that they may have other properties that allow the use of magnets where they couldn't be used before.

    -Mark

  3. Re:Better Magnets == Better Cars by TwP · · Score: 4, Informative

    The force (or power) an electric motor can generate is directly proportional to the current going through the motor and the strength of the magnetic field. If the magnetic field is stronger, you can have a motor of the same size but with more power. Or you could have a motor of the same size and power, but it would consume less current. This would give you a longer battery life.

    For cars, you could now have more powerful electric motors that consume the same amount of power as current electric motors. Or you could have electric motors with the same power output of todays models but with a lower power consumption.

    Stronger magnets make for more effecient electric motors. You can use that efficiency for greater power or greater battery life.