Researchers demonstrate rare combination of electric and magnetic properties in strontium barium manganite
Friday, January 27, 2012 - 09:31
in Physics & Chemistry
An electric field can displace the cloud of electrons surrounding each atom of a solid. In an effect known as polarization, the cloud centers move away slightly from the positively charged nuclei, which radically changes the optical properties of the solid. Materials that can maintain this polarization, even when the external electric field is removed, are known as ferroelectrics and they could provide a novel route to higher-density memory devices.