Access

News and Views

Nature 439, 273-274 (19 January 2006) | doi:10.1038/439273a; Published online 18 January 2006

Open Innovation Challenges

naturejobs

More science jobs
Post a job for free

Condensed-matter physics: Great moments in disorder

Steven T. Bramwell1

Top

An array of nanomagnets has been designed to resemble the disordered magnetic state known as 'spin ice'. This could transform our understanding of disordered matter and, potentially, lead to new technologies.

How can we understand disordered states of matter such as liquids, glasses and disordered magnets? First, we must know how they are organized; second, we must know how that organization responds to changes in external constraints such as temperature, pressure or magnetic field.

  1. Steven T. Bramwell is in the Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H OAJ, UK, and the London Centre for Nanotechnology, 2–16 Torrington Place, London WC1E 7HN, UK.
    Email: s.t.bramwell@ucl.ac.uk