Originally Published 7 months ago — by Boing Boing
Tim from Grand Illusions demonstrates how overlapping dot patterns on paper and acetate, when slightly rotated, create mesmerizing moiré patterns that resemble cosmic spiral galaxies, showcasing a simple yet profound optical illusion.
Scientists have discovered a new type of magnetism, called Nagaoka magnetism, which is not driven by traditional electron exchange interactions. By experimenting with single-layer sheets of atoms that form intricate moiré patterns, researchers found that a material synthesized from semiconductors molybdenum diselenide and tungsten disulfide displayed unusual magnetic properties. The material exhibited ferromagnetic behavior when it had up to 50% more electrons than lattice sites, and this magnetism was driven by the movement of electrons forming two-electron combinations called doublons, creating small, localized ferromagnetic regions within the lattice.
Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a technique to precisely control the alignment of supermoiré lattices, which are created when two moiré patterns are stacked together. They have formulated a set of "golden rules" to guide the use of their technique, allowing for the creation of supermoiré lattices with improved accuracy and efficiency. This advancement paves the way for the development of next-generation moiré quantum matter and has potential applications in various fields.