We’ve Discovered a New Kind of Magnetism. What Can We Do With It?
21st May 2026
We have known of magnets for millennia. Today, they are at the heart of a raft of modern technologies, from electric generators and smartphones to loudspeakers and hospital scanners. And yet for 100 years, we have been missing something about them. We always assumed there were only two types. It was Šmejkal’s art-inspired insights that finally gave the lie to that in 2022.
Fast-forward to today, and we know that what Šmejkal called “altermagnets” aren’t just an idea. We have discovered real examples and are working out how to make this new kind of material in practical and useful ways. There is even a possibility that these magnets could help us build a completely new kind of computer. “Altermagnets could actually have all the functionalities of current devices, but much faster, with less energy consumption, and smaller,” says Šmejkal.