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How spintronics went from the lab to the iPod

Nature Nanotechnology volume 4, pages 2–4 (2009)Cite this article

The commercial success of products based on giant magnetoresistance is often cited as a reason for supporting basic physics research. The reality is more complex, given the range of bodies, including IBM and the US military, involved in developing new technologies based on this Nobel-prize-winning discovery.

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Acknowledgements

This article is based upon research supported by the National Science Foundation (SES 0531,184).

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  1. W. Patrick McCray is in the Department of History and the Center for Nanotechnology in Society, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106-9410, USA. pmccray@cns.ucsb.edu,

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McCray, W. How spintronics went from the lab to the iPod. Nature Nanotech 4, 2–4 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2008.380

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