A static magnetic field should generate no e.m.f. in a closed electrical circuit: but there is the possibility of generating an e.m.f. of purely spin origin in a static magnetic field. Pham Nam Hai and colleagues have now realised such an effect using magnetic tunnel junctions containing nanoscale magnetic particles; the resulting conversion of magnetic to electrical energy gives rise to a huge magnetoresistance (as high as 100,000 per cent), and might also form the basis of a 'spin battery'.
- Pham Nam Hai
- Shinobu Ohya
- Sadamichi Maekawa
