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Nature 454, 951-952 (21 August 2008) | doi:10.1038/454951a; Published online 20 August 2008

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Materials science: A metal left spinning

Zachary Fisk1 & Stephan von Molnár2

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Conductors and semiconductors usually behave like conduits for fluids of electrons. But sometimes the electrons' spins conspire to produce unconventional behaviours that can be turned off and on with magnets.

The theory of Landau–Fermi liquids is a remarkably simple but effective model to describe the behaviour of conventional metals. It views metals as consisting of a liquid of independent, mobile electrons with spin and charge, responding to applied magnetic and electric fields.

  1. Zachary Fisk is in the Physics and Astronomy Department, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, USA.
    Email: zfisk@uci.edu
  2. Stephan von Molnár is at the Center for Materials Research and Technology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4351, USA.
    Email: molnar@martech.fsu.edu

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