LMU chemists have synthesized a ferromagnetic
superconducting compound that is amenable to chemical modification, opening the
route to detailed studies of this rare combination of physical properties.
Superconductivity and ferromagnetism – the “normal” form of
magnetism, such as that found in the familiar horseshoe magnet – are like chalk
and cheese: They generally don’t go together. Ferromagnets are magnetic because
the parallel alignment of adjacent electron spins in the iron atoms generates a
strong internal magnetic field.