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New Kind of Magnetism Spotted in an Engineered Material
In an atomically thin stack of semiconductors, a mechanism unseen in any natural substance causes electrons’ spins to align.
![An illustration showing three stacked sheets of carbon atoms, each offset from the one below by half a lattice spacing.]](https://www.quantamagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Trilayer_Graphene_520x292.jpg)
Graphene Superconductors May Be Less Exotic Than Physicists Hoped
Superconductivity has been discovered in graphene devices without any twists, suggesting the form of superconductivity in the material might be mundane after all.
A New Twist Reveals Superconductivity’s Secrets
An unexpected superconductor was beginning to look like a fluke, but a new theory and a second discovery have revealed that emergent quasiparticles may be behind the effect.
With a Simple Twist, a ‘Magic’ Material Is Now the Big Thing in Physics
The stunning emergence of a new type of superconductivity with the mere twist of a carbon sheet has left physicists giddy, and its discoverer nearly overwhelmed.
A Child’s Puzzle Has Helped Unlock the Secrets of Magnetism
People have known about magnets since ancient times, but the physics of ferromagnetism remains a mystery. Now a familiar puzzle is getting physicists closer to the answer.
Paradoxical Crystal Baffles Physicists
At super-low temperatures, a crystal called samarium hexaboride behaves in an unexplained, imagination-stretching way.
In a Grain, a Glimpse of the Cosmos
When scientists traced a museum rock back to its origins, they uncovered mysteries about the early solar system.