New, expanding magnet turns around 175-year-old principle of magnetism

The International Business Times UK ^ | May 23, 2015 | Jayalakshmi K

[2ndDivisionVet]

A new class of magnets discovered that swell in volume and generate little heat when placed in a magnetic field could be used to harvest or convert energy efficiently.

Applications range from sensors and actuators for automobiles to biomedical devices, besides defence applications.

Discovered by scientists at the University of Maryland (UMD) and Temple University, the new magnets made from abundant metal alloys could replace the expensive, rare-earth magnets which exhibit poor mechanical properties.

Maryland professor of materials science and engineering Manfred Wuttig, and Harsh Deep Chopra, professor and chair of mechanical engineering at Temple heated certain iron-based alloys (iron-gallium, iron-germanium, and iron-aluminium) in a furnace to approximately 760C for 30 minutes, then quickly cooled them to room temperature.

Once cooled, the new materials demonstrated a property never seen before in magnetic materials – change in volume during magnetisation....

[Impy]

I love playing with magnets. They never cease to fascinate me.

[dangus]

I tried making a watch with a Joulian magnet, but it ws 13 days off.

[Fai Mao]

If this is an economically viable process then the rare earth exports that China has a monopoly on just became worthless.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Harsh Deep Chopra?

Is that Deepak Chopra's evil twin?

[catnipman]

So what are we saying here exactly? Boy magnets swell in size when placed in near proximity to a female magnet? Hardly seems like news to me.

[buwaya]

If a cousin, a poorer but more useful one apparently.

[SunTzuWu]

lol

[reed13k]

I don’t understand this statement...’when placed in a magnetic field’ ...
Reason I’m confused is that a magnet by definition is already in a magnetic field...it’s own...else it isn’t a magnet. So the line doesn’t compute.

Are they trying to say it isn’t a magnet before it’s placed in the field and then when magnetized by placing it in the field it swells?

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks 2ndDivisionVet.

• Shedding new light on 175-year-old principle: New class of swelling magnets ... energize the world

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