Synthetic magnetic monopoles

Physicists create synthetic magnetic monopoles

May lead to entirely new materials, such as superconductors

January 30, 2014

Artist illustration of the synthetic magnetic monopole (credit: Heikka Valja)

Nearly 85 years after pioneering theoretical physicist Paul Dirac predicted the possibility of their existence, scientists have created, identified and photographed synthetic magnetic monopoles.

The groundbreaking accomplishment, described by a paper in Nature, paves the way for the detection of the particles in nature, which would be a revolutionary development comparable to the discovery of the electron, according to the scientists.

“The creation of a synthetic magnetic monopole should provide us with unprecedented insight into aspects of the natural magnetic monopole — if indeed it exists,” said Amherst College Physics Professor David S. Hall.