Superfast magnetic memory devices are possible after scientists engineered a way to use lasers to magnetize non-magnetic materials.

For the first time, scientists have magnetized a non-magnetic material at room temperature, which they say creates a quantum property that could pave the way for ultra-fast computing.

“Switchable” magnetic fields may one day be used to store and transmit information. This was previously only possible at ultracold temperatures.

This “paves the way for ultra-fast magnetic switches and can be used for fast information transfer as well as data storage and significantly faster and more energy-efficient computers,” said the study’s lead author, physics professor Alexander Balatsky (NORDITA) in a statement. is

Scientists wanted to harness the strange laws of quantum mechanics to improve computing systems, for example in quantum computing. But quantum states are fragile, and can be easily broken or “decohered” by noise such as thermal vibrations or the random jiggling of atoms.