But what we surely do not know is the silent revolution that awaits us with the new types of magnets …
The discovery in 1984 of the super magnet – a compound that creates an intense magnetic field despite its small size – has allowed hitherto unthinkable applications, such as the battery-powered hand drill. One of the most important technological careers is the search for new alloys with magnetic properties that improve those existing in the market: magnets for motors that work in extreme conditions, such as high temperatures, that are resistant to corrosion … These last few years They have seen the advent of flexible magnets, like the ones we place in refrigerators, transparent magnets, and magnets that are activated by light. There are even those that have a magnetocaloric effect, substances that when they stop applying a magnetic field, cool down.
Will we be in front of the refrigerators of the future? There are others, recently discovered by scientists at the universities of Temple and Maryland (USA), that increase in size when placed within a magnetic field. And what about a magnet that is not made of metal? Even that it's made with organic molecules? Molecular magnets and organic magnets will surely be found everywhere in the future.
