The magnetism of rare‐earth metals

JUN 01, 1977

Although they are chemically similar, these fifteen elements—one sixth of the periodic table—exhibit a broad spectrum of unusual magnetic properties that may be custom controlled by alloying.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3037594

Allan R. Mackintosh

In the last two decades a revolutionary improvement has taken place in our understanding of the magnetic behavior of solids. A major contribution to this development has been made with the intense beams of neutrons now available from research reactors. Neutrons interact with magnetic systems through their magnetic moments; the energies, momenta and wavelengths of thermal neutrons correspond with those characteristic of solids. The changes in momentum and energy when a neutron is magnetically scattered in a solid therefore are readily measured, yielding information on magnetic structures and excitations that can not be obtained by other means.

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More about the authors

Allan R. Mackintosh, H. C. O/rsted Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.