Quantum Magnet may Jumpstart Future Technologies
Future advances in a number of ‘green’ technologies as well as advanced and incredibly powerful quantum computers have for years hinged on finding one key piece – quantum magnets which can operate at room temperature.
Research into this elusive area have often come up short as most elements only exhibit quantum properties at very low temperatures, making them impractical for use in portable devices and computers for the masses.
Credit: M. Zahid Hasan group, Princeton University
After ten years of searching, a team of international research scientists under the direction of M. Zahid Hasan, a physicist at Princeton University, appears to have identified a new class of magnet that indeed has these quantum properties at room temperature.
Research for the team has been funded in part by the National Science Foundation and have been published in the journal Nature.
“The discovery of a magnetic topological material with quantized behavior is a major step forward that could unlock new horizons in harnessing quantum topology for future fundamental physics and next-generation device research,” said Hasan.
“This is like discovering water on an exoplanet — it opens a new frontier of quantum matter research.”
While it may take some time for this discovery to make its way into the hands of everyday users, the future implications across a wide array of future tech are truly remarkable.
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