Magnetic field

Researchers have created a new class of robots that can shift between solid and liquid forms on demand. In a series of tests, these new bots could change shape to run obstacle courses, carry objects, or even escape from a jail cell like a Terminator.

Stars are hot balls of plasma, but astronomers have now spotted a super strange one that may have a solid surface. Its intense magnetic field is strong enough to overcome its blistering temperatures and “freeze” its outer layers into a solid crust.

The Earth’s magnetic field isn't something we can usually see, feel or hear. That last point has now changed though, as scientists and musicians have worked together to convert magnetic field data into sound – with spooky results.

If you want to maximize the number of trains that can operate on one line simultaneously, it's crucial that you know the exact location of each train at all times. A new system is designed to help, by analyzing the magnetic properties of the rails.

Scientists in China have set a new world record for the strongest steady magnetic field ever generated on Earth. The hybrid magnet managed to produce a field measuring 45.22 Tesla (T), which is over a million times stronger than the planet’s own.

Researchers at Rice University have shown how they can hack the brains of fruit flies to make them remote controlled. The flies performed a specific action within a second of a command being sent to certain neurons in their brain.

Astronomers have measured the strongest magnetic field ever found in the universe. The honor goes to a powerful type of neutron star, with a surface magnetic field of over 1.6 billion Tesla.

While stellarator fusion reactors have conventionally featured irregularly shaped magnetic coils, scientists have now developed simpler and straighter versions they say can offer some important benefits.

Scientists have discovered a new form of space weather – superfast electron rains that precipitate into the atmosphere from the radiation belts. The rains could affect satellites, spacecraft and astronauts, but aren’t accounted for in current models.

A new technology representing a "revolutionary change" in how magnets are made for tokamak reactors could form a key piece of the nuclear fusion power puzzle, by facilitating the type of sustained streams of plasma needed for it to become a reality.

A new signal deepens the mystery of fast radio bursts with a few oddities – it hails from an unexpected region of space, and its pulses are about a million times shorter than most, which could indicate many others like it are going undetected.

Contrary to their name, black holes are known to fire off flares from time to time, but exactly how this happens is shrouded in mystery. High-resolution simulations have now revealed how twisting magnetic fields can throw off huge amounts of energy.