Have you ever wondered why when you bring a magnet close to an iron bar it sticks to it, but if you bring it close to something that is made of another type of metal, it won’t? This is because not all metals have magnetic properties . In fact, naturally there are only three that do: iron, cobalt and nickel.
However, in 2015 a research group from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom managed to generate magnetic properties in thin copper and manganese plates , causing them to present a behavior similar to that of the three mentioned. The research results were published in the journal Nature .
The magnetic capacity of metals has to do with their atomic structure. In it, the electrons that surround the atomic nucleus tend to be arranged in pairs, except in those cases in which the number of electrons is odd and one of them is loose, giving rise to its own magnetic field . Then, and by the action of all those loose electrons from each of its atoms, this metal has that characteristic that makes it possible to attract magnets at room temperature.
Thus, the Leeds researchers were inspired by the studies that the theoretical physicist Edmund Stoner had carried out in the 1930s in order to discover how to make these electrons align their magnetic fields. Thus, they placed very thin metal plates in layers of the so-called buckyballs , a class of cage-shaped structure of molecules made up of 60 carbon atoms , which manage to remove electrons from the metal film, making them partially magnetic.
Although, yes, creating magnets much weaker than naturally magnetic metals. Also, the magnetism fades after a few days, at most weeks, and depends on the metal not oxidizing.
Despite this, the discovery could have important applications for the future , for example, in the field of medical imaging or computer science, and promoting more environmentally friendly alternatives in the development of turbines or clinical instruments used to make MRIs.
