Ying Chen

Scientists peered into a two-dimensional magnet made of nickel atoms arranged in triangles using a method created by Isidor Isaac Rabi — nuclear magnetic resonance (similar to MRI). Inside, they found magnetic arrows that, in a strong field, froze into an 'up-up-down' pattern, like a formation of soldiers: two steps forward, one step back.

A patient with schizophrenia comes in for a procedure that feels like a mild tingling in the ear. The doctor switches on a small electrical stimulator attached to the earlobe, and after a few weeks, some people find their apathy and withdrawal receding, while others see no change at all. Until now, predicting this was impossible.

Two teams pull a rope with equal force in opposite directions — the rope doesn't move, and the net force is zero. That's how many antiferromagnets behave: the magnetic moments of atoms are aligned oppositely and cancel each other out.

The most abundant construction material on Earth, concrete, hides its deepest secrets at nanometer scales. Its strength and tendency to creep slowly under load are governed by a microscopic gel of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), whose structure is as chaotic as a frozen vortex of atoms.