Magnetic Monopoles

[yevaud]

Newly Discovered Magnetic Monopole Particles Flow Like Electric Currents

In 1931, physicist Paul Dirac hypothesized that on the quantum level, magnetic charge must exist in discrete packets, or quanta, in the same way that electric energy exists in a photon. This implies the existence of magnetic monopoles: particles that have a single magnetic charge, or polar identity -- north or south.

[...]

That all changed in September, when physicists discovered the identity-carrying particle Dirac predicted, as well as the one-poled magnets the particle creates.

Full Article

 

[a_lost_packet_]

A couple of links that might be pertinent:

Magnetic Monopoles Detected In A Real Magnet For The First Time

http://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/01081... anisotropy of the spin ice compound Dy2Ti2O7

Very heady stuff. I will be looking forward to a decrease in my electric bill next.... Well, sometime soon.

 

[ramparts]

Untrue!! And PopSci should really be ashamed for such shoddy, misleading journalism. These people did not find actual monopoles, just objects or "quasiparticles" (in these spin-ice crystals) that act as such. This is a big accomplishment and might have some important applications in engineering, but it is most certainly not the discovery of a monopole particle predicted by Dirac. Most popular articles I've seen about this story have made that distinction, but I'm disappointed to see this one couldn't bother getting the facts straight - or for that matter, even reading Wikipedia.

 

[yevaud]

If one follows to the various Nature articles related to this (which I would trust is what people would do, the PopSci article(s) are merely a starting point), they do indeed state these are only Quasiparticles resembling Monopoles.