Scientists have used radio waves to control the magnetic spin of a single atomic nucleus, achieving a result that challenges their understanding of how atomic magnetism works. The experiment, conducted at Delft University of Technology and published in Nature Communications, demonstrates that nuclear spin can be manipulated under conditions where researchers did not expect it to respond.
Unlike the relatively strong magnetism associated with electrons, nuclear magnetism is extremely weak and more isolated from its surroundings. “By far the strongest magnetism comes from the electrons,” says lead researcher Sander Otte. “But in some atoms, the nucleus also carries a spin. That spin is much weaker, but it is also much better shielded from the outside world.”
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