Magnetic vortices defy temperature fluctuations
Monday, April 18, 2016 - 07:10
in Earth & Climate
Magnetic nanovortices in magnetite minerals are reliable witnesses of the earth's history, as revealed by the first high-resolution studies of these structures undertaken by scientists from Germany and the United Kingdom. The magnetic structures are built during the cooling of molten rock and reflect the earth's magnetic field at the time of their formation. The vortices are unexpectedly resilient to temperature fluctuations, as electron holographic experiments in Jülich have verified. These results are an important step in improving our understanding of the history of the earth's magnetic field, its core and plate tectonics.