Golden ratio in the nanoworld

This proportional relationship of 1 to 1.618 has been regarded as an aesthetic ideal ever since antiquity. The material investigated by the research team was cobalt niobate, which has particular magnetic properties. The electron spins align to form chains, which function in concert like a thin bar magnet. However, this chain is only one atom thick. When a magnetic field is positioned perpendicular to the spin chain, the latter behaves like a guitar string, albeit on a nanolevel, explains Dr. Radu Coldea of Oxford University: “The vibration of the string is analogous to the interaction of neighbouring spin chains.” As in the case of a guitar string, this process generates resonances, and the proportional relationship between the first two resonance frequencies corresponds to the golden ratio.

Ina Helms/HZB-Kommunikation