A team of researchers from Cologne, Munich and Dresden have
managed to create artificial magnetic monopoles. To do this, the scientists
merged tiny magnetic whirls, so-called skyrmions. At the point of merging, the physicists were
able to create a monopole, which has similar characteristics to a fundamental
particle postulated by Paul Dirac in 1931. In addition to fundamental research,
the monopoles may also have application potential. The question of whether
magnetic whirls can be used in the production of computer components one day is
currently being researched by a number of groups worldwide.
When a magnet is divided, a new magnet with north and south
poles is always created. However, a monopole, i.e. a north pole without a south
pole or a south pole without a north pole has not yet been discovered. In the
current edition of the journal Science, researchers from Cologne, Munich and
Dresden describe the discovery of new type of artificial monopole in a solid,
i.e. particles, which have similar characteristics to monopoles, but which only
exist within materials.