Myriam Sarachik, Physicist Who Founded Magnetism, Dies at 88

[ad_1]

Dr. When Sarachik insists, Dr. Kusch arranged for him to do an interview at Bell Labs.

In the 1980s, Dr. Sarachik investigated how some two-dimensional materials, usually insulators that do not conduct electricity, turn into metallic conductors, which theorists say is impossible.

He also conducted experiments on the quantum behavior of molecules acting like magnets. The study showed that the north and south poles of these molecules, each consisting of several hundred atoms, can spontaneously change in cold temperatures, where such rotations are prohibited by classical physics.

Other physicists have tried to demonstrate this as well. However, at that time, materials consisting of these molecules could only be made in powder form. The magnetic fields of these crystal spots were pointing in random directions, and the evidence was inconclusive.

“He wasn’t happy with any speculation,” said Eugene Chudnovsky, a physicist at Lehman College and the City University of New York’s Graduate Center. “I was actually saying to him, ‘Myriam, you have some very interesting results, you need to publish them.’ And he said to me: ‘No, let’s wait. I want to understand better.’”

Jonathan Friedman, one of Sarachik’s students, provided a solution by mixing the powder in a liquid adhesive and placing the mixture in a strong magnetic field. The crystals align with the magnetic field and point in that direction as the glue dries.

Dr. Chudnovsky said these data clearly started “an explosion of research in this field.”

Living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, her daughter, Dr. Survived by her husband, in addition to Sarachik; a brother, Henry Morgenstein; and three grandchildren.

Dr. Sarachik concluded in his 2018 autobiographical draft with observations on remaining fundamental scientific questions, such as the nature of human consciousness.

“Science is just beginning to make some progress towards understanding ‘awareness’,” he wrote. “But the real mystery is self-awareness. Why me? My self-awareness will soon fade. I’m on an amazing journey right now!”

[ad_2]

Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *