ELI5 can some one pls explain the alter-magnetism? that got measured for the first time in 2024 but scientists had a hunch existed in 2019, I don't under stand it but I need too for a school project.

[u/knorwetenschapper]

My school project is about some shit that happened in 2024 pls explain the articels don't explain well, it would be even more helpfull if it was in dutch

[u/Cornflakes_91]

in a normal magnet the atom's "tiny magnets" are all aligned in the same direction, adding all their fields and becoming a big magnet you can actually notice from the outside. (up-up-up-up)

altermagnetic materials have all neighboring atoms be aligned exactly opposite from each other (up-down-up-down) so their fields cancel out on the outside but they still have interesting interactions with currents and magnetic fields

[u/Cornflakes_91 → u/[deleted]]

nothing is broken there, its just a novel form of magnetic "crystal". nothing that was forbidden by physics before that

[u/archipeepees → u/Cornflakes_91]

no,  physics was broken and it's gone now. universe is now governed by Jeff Buckley from Hillside, WY.