A research team led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has created a nanoscale “playground” on a chip that simulates the formation of exotic magnetic particles called monopoles. The study—published recently in Science Advances—could unlock the secrets to ever-smaller, more powerful memory devices, microelectronics, and next-generation hard drives that employ the power of magnetic spin to store data.

Follow the ‘ice rules’

For years, other researchers have been trying to create a real-world model of a magnetic monopole—a theoretical magnetic, subatomic particle that has a single north or south pole. These elusive particles can be simulated and observed by manufacturing artificial spin ice materials—large arrays of nanomagnets that have structures analogous to water ice—wherein the arrangement of atoms isn’t perfectly symmetrical, leading to residual north or south poles.

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