E. Lhotel

The tiny magnetic arrows inside a crystal of terbium-iridium oxide behave strangely: instead of lying along their preferred axis, they stand across it. This state fully forms when cooled to 1.5 Kelvin — colder than outer space. Researchers probed the crystal with neutrons and observed how these flipped arrows oscillate and exchange energy.

A pot of water on the stove: the hotter the burner, the faster ice turns to water, and water to steam. Heat destroys order. But sometimes nature pulls a trick, and heating makes a liquid freeze, like a puddle turning to ice on a frosty morning.