Xiaoyang Tan

A magnetic material can be compared to a crowd of tiny compasses. In an ordinary magnet, all the needles point in the same direction, and turning them all at once is no easy feat. Physicists have found a way to do this with an electric current.

A crystal of osmium dioxide, OsO₂, is like a stubborn teenager: under ordinary conditions it behaves like a typical metal, but press hard enough and its character changes.