"Jiaruo Li was crafting a new device for storing digital data, aiming to use an exotic kind of magnetism discovered in the same lab the previous year to make the device faster and more energy-efficient than any competing technology."
"Nickel bromide is a sibling compound to nickel iodide, which made news in the spring of 2025 for displaying so-called p-wave magnetism, a phenomenon that had been predicted by theorists in early 2024."
"P-wave magnets exhibit behaviors that traditional magnets lack, including imparting special properties to electric currents passed through them, potentially revolutionizing computer hardware."
"The breakthrough was just the latest in a series of revelations over the previous few years related to the discovery of a new class of magnets called altermagnets."
Jiaruo Li, a graduate student at MIT, is developing a new data storage device using nickel bromide, which exhibits unique p-wave magnetism. This magnetism allows for enhanced properties in electric currents, potentially transforming computer hardware. The research is timely due to the increasing energy demands of AI-driven data centers. Li's process involves creating a crystal of nickel bromide and isolating thin flakes for experimentation. The discovery of altermagnets, a new class of magnets, has opened new avenues in both technology and physics.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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