The significance of this is lost on me.
Maybe on of our more scientifically-attuned members could explain what it means?
Magnetricity in crystals.
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Hard to tell, at the moment, but that makes it no different than a lot of pure science discoveries. What good was the discovery back in 1885 of the rare earth element neodymium?
Oh, wait, a century or so later, it turns out the neodymium is horrorshow important for making real strong permanent magnets, invaluable in electronics and a bunch of other stuff. Mesuspects that something will come of this intriguing discovery, too.
Oh, wait, a century or so later, it turns out the neodymium is horrorshow important for making real strong permanent magnets, invaluable in electronics and a bunch of other stuff. Mesuspects that something will come of this intriguing discovery, too.
dmytryp
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While you have electric charge carriers like electrons, protons etc, you don't have a magnetic carrier. Every magnetic particle has two poles. The constant magnets have two constant poles, while in other materials you can induce a magnetic polarization by applying external field.
If they discovered a particle that has only one magnetic pole, it would be huge. Nobel prize huge.
If they discovered a particle that has only one magnetic pole, it would be huge. Nobel prize huge.
Quantum mechanics suggests the existence of magnetic monopoles.
A genuine magnetic monopole would project a magnetic field that diminished linearly, and not in an inverse square...IIRC.
A genuine magnetic monopole would project a magnetic field that diminished linearly, and not in an inverse square...IIRC.
Quick! Get Chief Engineer Scott up to the Bridge on the double! Tell him we've located a substitute for dilitheum crystals!
So, like, would a monopole just be immediately attracted to the nearest opposite charge of something else?
If memory serves, some researchers in Germany made a big hullabulloo in 2009 when they thought they'd found one. It turned out to be a false positive.
Anyway, magnetic monopoles would confirm a certain set of theories about how the universe works, which is awesome. Oh, and they'd allow us to make (hypothetically) objects that can levitate and materials that could withstand the force of a nuclear explosion.
If someone really finds a magnetic monopole, expect it to be one of the folks fiddling with the LHC.
Anyway, magnetic monopoles would confirm a certain set of theories about how the universe works, which is awesome. Oh, and they'd allow us to make (hypothetically) objects that can levitate and materials that could withstand the force of a nuclear explosion.
If someone really finds a magnetic monopole, expect it to be one of the folks fiddling with the LHC.
Magnetism, as familiar as it is to everybody in effect, is one the least understood physical phenomena, exceeded probably only by gravity and "dark energy". Anything discovered about how it works advances our knowledge of how the physical universe works. This is a nifty discovery, regardless of immediate practical applications.
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