The crystal Co2SeO3Cl2 resembles a layered cake, with each layer being a buckled honeycomb grid of cobalt atoms. When cooled to 25.4 K (−247.75 °C), the magnetic moments of the atoms begin to align like compass needles, but not all at once — rather in four steps, at 25.4, 16.8, 11, and 3 K. Each step brings a new pattern of magnetic order.

However, heat capacity measurements showed that even at the lowest temperatures, disorder persists. Only half of the expected magnetic entropy (a measure of disorder) has 'frozen out', while the remaining spins continue to jiggle like restless floats on water. This means that magnetic fluctuations survive even in the ordered state.

Laser pulses revealed another feature: at the same temperatures where magnetic transitions occur, the crystal's ability to double the frequency of light (second harmonic generation) also changes. This indicates that magnetic rearrangements directly affect electrical properties, even though the crystal lattice does not change symmetry. Such a crystal is a ready candidate for magnetoelectric devices, where a magnetic field controls electric charge and vice versa.