Caltech researchers have discovered that quantum mechanical effects can cause Barkhausen noise, a phenomenon in magnetism traditionally understood as classical. This finding, observed through experiments at temperatures near absolute zero, suggests significant quantum behavior and potential technological applications in materials with trillions of spins. Credit: SciTechDaily.
Usually, these magnetic flips occur classically, through thermal activation, where the particles need to temporarily gain enough energy to jump over an energy barrier. However, the new study shows that these flips can also occur quantum mechanically through a process called quantum tunneling. “In the quantum world, the ball doesn’t have to go over a hill because the ball, or rather the particle, is actually a wave, and some of it is already on the other side of the hill,” says Simon.
By analyzing this noise, the researchers were able to show that a magnetic avalanche was taking place even without the presence of classical effects. Specifically, they showed that these effects were insensitive to changes in the temperature of the material. This and other analytical steps led them to conclude that quantum effects were responsible for the sweeping changes.
Technology Technology Latest News, Technology Technology Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: physorg_com - 🏆 388. / 55 Read more »
Source: ForbesTech - 🏆 318. / 59 Read more »
Source: SciTechDaily1 - 🏆 84. / 68 Read more »
Source: physorg_com - 🏆 388. / 55 Read more »