Harnessing Magnetism: Cutting-Edge Applications and Scientific Advancements
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Magnetism is a key topic in the field of physics. It is also used in a variety of other applications to make useful and earth-friendly technologies. In this article, you will learn about the fundamentals of magnetism (based on the movement and spin of electrons), the different kinds of magnetism (ferromagnetism, diamagnetism, and superparamagnetism), and how we use them for various things. A number of recent advances, such as spintronics, magnetic skyrmions, magneto-ionics, and two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials, are highlighted to demonstrate how the ability to manipulate magnetism at the nanometer scale underpins advances in data storage, quantum computers, and medical applications. Applications in health care, energy, information, and communication as well as technology for environmental protection are discussed (for example, magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic nanoparticles, magnetic levitation, magnetic cooling). There are also new trends such AI-designed magnetic tools, nature-mimicking magnetic systems and environmentally friendly magnets that don’t contain rare earth metals. Relevant topics are also addressed, such as pollution, health hazards, the difficulty of material recovery and high costs. This review briefly retells the story of the magnet and summarizes recent research involving magnets, while emphasizing the demand and philomovision that more investigation may be encouraged to be conducted in the future.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
[1] Minnesota Geological Survey, “Magnetite - Common Minerals.” Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota, 2025. [Available Online]. https://commonminerals.esci.umn.edu/minerals-gm/magnetite.
[2] B. Zhang, P. Lu, R. Tabrizian, Philip X. L. Feng and Y. Wu, “2D Magnetic Heterostructures: Spintronics and Quantum Future,” npj Spintronics vol. 2, no. 6, 2024.
[3] X. Li, X. Liu, J. Yang, Y. Zhang and Y. Pan, “Creation and Manipulation of Magnetic Skyrmions in 2D van der Waals Magnets,” Mat. Today Phys., vol. 54, pp. 101727, 2025.
[4] “Magnetism,” Britannica.com, 2025. [Available Online on July 2025]. https://www.britannica.com/science/magnetism.
[5] Magnetic Materials,” Nat. Rev. Mater., vol. 6, pp. 653–673, 2021.
[6] J. Cui et al., "Manufacturing Processes for Permanent Magnets: Part I - Sintering and Casting," JOM, vol. 74, pp. 1279-1295, 2022.
[7] Stanford Magnets, “Soft Magnetic Materials vs Hard Magnetic Materials,” Stanford Magnets, 2025. [Available Online] https://www.stanfordmagnets.com/soft-magneticmaterials-vs-hard-magnetic-materials.html.
[8] S. MacMillan and N. Olsen, “Observatory Data and The Swarm Mission,” Earth Planets Space, vol. 65, pp. 1355–1362, 2013.
[9] G. Mörée and M. Leijon, “Review of Play and Preisach Models for Hysteresis in Magnetic Materials,” Materials, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 2422, 2023.
[10] A. H. Lu, E. L. Salabas and F. Schüth, “Magnetic Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Protection, Functionalization, and Application,” Angew. Chem. Int. Edn., vol. 46, no. 8, pp. 1222–1244, 2007.
[11] B. Rezaei et al., “Magnetic Nanoparticles: A Review on Synthesis, Characterization, Functionalization, and Biomedical Applications,” Small, vol. 20, no. 5, pp. e2304848, 2023.
[12] H. Jani et al., “Reversible Hydrogen Control of Antiferromagnetic Anisotropy in a-Fe2O3,” Nat. Commun., vol. 12, pp. 1668, 2021.
[13] T. Moriyasu, S. Wakabayashi and T. Kohmoto, “Observation of Antiferromagnetic Magnons and Magnetostriction in Manganese Oxide Using Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy,” J. Infrared Milli. Terahz. Waves, vol. 34, pp. 277-288, 2013.
[14] T. Muthukumaran and J. Philip, “A Review on Synthesis, Capping and Applications of Superparamagnetic Magnetic Nanoparticles,” Adv. Colloid Interface Sci., vol. 334, pp. 103314, 2024.
[15] H. Yang, M. Geilhufe, R. Gupta and M. Kläui, “Spin–orbit Torque Driven Coherent THz Magnons in An Antiferromagnetic Insulator,” Nat. Commun., vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 3823, 2024.
[16] W. Jiang et al., “Skyrmions in Magnetic Multilayers,” Phys. Rep., vol. 704, pp. 1–49, 2017.
[17] Y. Tokura and N. Kanazawa, “Magnetic Skyrmion Materials,” Chem. Rev., vol. 121, no. 5, pp. 2857–2897, 2021.
[18] C. Zimm, A. Fujita and T. Koyama, “Progress in Magnetic Refrigeration,” J. Magnet. and Magnet. Mater., vol. 512, pp. 167070, 2020.
[19] C. Broholm et al., “Quantum Spin Liquids,” Science, vol. 367, no. 6475, pp. eaay0668, 2020.
[20] C. Gong and X. Zhang, “Two-dimensional Magnetic Crystals and Emergent Heterostructure Devices,” Science, vol. 363, no. 6428, pp. eaav4450, 2019.
[21] B. Huang et al., “Emergent Phenomena and Proximity Effects in Two-Dimensional Magnets and Heterostructures,” Nat. Mater., vol. 19, no. 12, pp. 1276–1289, 2020.
[22] K. Wang, J. Zhao and S. Zhang, “Recent Advances in Magnetoresistive Random-access Memory (MRAM),” IEEE Trans. Magnet., vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 1–10, 2021.
[23] J. Grollier, D. Querlioz and M. D. Stiles, “Spintronic Nanodevices for Bioinspired Computing,” Proc. IEEE, vol. 104, no. 10, pp. 2024–2039, 2016.
[24] D. D. Awschalom et al., “Quantum Engineering with Hybrid Magnonic Systems and Materials (Invited Paper),” IEEE Trans. Quant. Eng., vol. 2, pp. 1–36, 2021.
[25] Y. Li, H. Chen and L. Zhang, “Advancements in Maglev Transportation Technologies,” IEEE Trans. Industr. Electron., vol. 70, no. 1, pp. 10–19, 2023.
[26] F. Zhang, X. Li and Y. Huang, “Magnetic Energy Harvesting: A Review on Techniques and Applications,” Sensors, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 451, 2021.
[27] J. Chen, M. Liu and H. Wang, “Design and Control of Brushless DC Motors for Electric Vehicles,” IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 36411–36422, 2022.
[28] H. Ma, Y. Sun and P. Liu, “Application of High-gradient Magnetic Separation (HGMS) in Industrial Processes,” Miner. Eng., vol. 210, pp. 109982, 2025.
[29] Q. Liu, Z. Gao and X. Chen, “Development of Magnetic Sensors for Smart Industrial Applications,” Sens. and Act. A: Phys., vol. 335, pp. 113380, 2022.
[30] R. Patel and S. Gupta, “Magnetic Water Treatment: Mechanism and Practical Industrial Applications,” Desalin. and Wat. Treat., vol. 253, pp. 17–24, 2022.
[31] L. Brown, K. Adams and T. Green, “Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Advances and Clinical Applications,” Biomed. Sign. Process. and Contr., vol. 68, pp. 102741, 2021.
[32] Y. Tang, M. Zhao and Q. Li, “Recent Progress of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Targeted Drug Delivery,” Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev., vol. 196, pp. 114143, 2023.
[33] M. Szwed and A. Marczak, “Application of Nanoparticles for Magnetic Hyperthermia for Cancer Treatment–The Current State of Knowledge,” Cancers, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 1156, 2024.
[34] M. K. Munshi, R. L. Partho and A. J. Roberts, “Magnetogenetics: Remote Control of Cellular Activity Using Magnetic Fields,” Trends in Biotechnol., vol. 41, no. 8, pp. 856–870, 2023.
[35] S. Patel and M. Park, “Wearable Biosensors for Health Monitoring,” Sensors, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 2123, 2021.
[36] R. M. Hill et al., "Optimising The Sensitivity of Optically-Pumped Magnetometer Magnetoencephalography to Gamma Band Electrophysiological Activity," Imag. Neurosci., vol. 2, pp. 1-19, 2024.
[37] L. Nguyen and M. Ito, “High-efficiency Magnetic Systems for Gigawatt-Scale Energy Generation,” IEEE Trans. Ener. Conver., vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 112–120, 2023.
[38] K. Afifi-Sabet, “Aston University Researchers Achieve World-Record 402 Tbps Internet Speed,” Tech Monitor, 2024.
[Available Online] https://techmonitor.ai/technology/networks/aston-university402tbps-record-optical-internet-speed.
[39] R. Bansal, D. Singh and R. Mehta, “Relaxin-coated Superparamagnetic Iron-Oxide Nanoparticles As A Novel Theranostic Approach for The Diagnosis and Treatment of Liver Fibrosis,” Sci. Rep., vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 1–12, 2023.
[40] S. Lee, The Future of Magnetic Materials, 2025. [Available Online] https://www.numberanalytics.com/blog/future-of-magnetic-materials.
[41] A. A. Adewunmi, S. Hassan, L. Zhang and P. Kumar, “Application of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Demulsification: A Review on Synthesis, Performance, Recyclability, and Challenges,” J. Petrol. Sci. and Eng., vol. 207, pp. 109–120, 2021.
[42] N. Seddaoui, W. Zhang, Y. Liu and J. Chen, “A Sensitive Colorimetric Immunoassay Based on Poly(Dopamine) Modified Magnetic Nanoparticles for Meat Authentication,” Food Chem., vol. 311, pp. 126025, 2020.
[43] W. H. Y. Clarissa, C. H. Chia, S. Zakaria and Y.C.Y. Evyan, “Recent Advancement in 3-D Printing: Nanocomposites with Added Functionality,” Prog. Addit. Manuf., vol. 7, pp. 325–350, 2022.
[44] M. Ahmad, A. Mehraj and A. Shah, “Magnetite Nanoparticles Effects on Adverse Responses of Aquatic and Terrestrial Animal Models,” J. Hazar. Mater., vol. 398, pp. 122902, 2020.
[45] T. M. Zimina et al., “Biosensors and Drug Delivery in Oncotheranostics Using Inorganic Synthetic and Biogenic Magnetic Nanoparticles,” Biosensors, vol. 12, no. 10, pp. 789, 2022.
[46] “Engineers Develop 3D-printed Metamaterials that Change Mechanical Properties under Magnetic Fields,” Jacobs School of Engineering, University of California San Diego.
[Available Online on 5 September 2025] https://jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/news/release/2676?id=2676.
[47] T. K. Nguyen et al., “Locomotion and Disaggregation Control of Paramagnetic Nanoclusters using Wireless Electromagnetic Fields for Enhanced Targeted Drug Delivery,” Sci. Rep., vol. 11, pp. 15122, 2021.