Magnetite is an iron oxide mineral with the ideal chemical composition Fe₃O₄, structurally represented as Fe²⁺Fe³⁺₂O₄, and crystallizing in the inverse spinel structure. It exhibits mixed valence of iron and electron hopping between Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺, imparting significant electronic conductivity. As a strongly ferrimagnetic material with high saturation magnetization and Curie temperature (~858 K), it is a key phase in rock magnetism, biomagnetism, and magnetic materials research. Magnetite participates in redox processes, can undergo the Verwey transition near 120 K associated with charge ordering, and serves as a reactive surface for adsorption and catalysis in geochemical and environmental systems.
A team of Brazilian researchers discovered the first direct evidence that goethite—the mineral responsible for the brown color of soils—can withstand extreme pressures and temperatures all the way to the planet's interior ...
Earth Sciences
7 hours ago
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More than 20 years after NASA's Spirit rover landed on Mars, a researcher from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has uncovered new evidence that suggests water may once have covered large parts of the red planet.
Astronomy
Jul 28, 2026
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How do microorganisms orient themselves to find the optimal habitat? Scientists have thoroughly investigated so-called magnetotactic bacteria, which use the Earth's magnetic field as a biological compass. Some eukaryotic ...
Evolution
Jul 20, 2026
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How do some of geology's most mysterious iron ore deposits form? This question has preoccupied the geosciences for more than a century. An international research team led by Dr. Stefan Peters from the Leibniz Institute for ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 8, 2026
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To uncover the history of our solar system, it is necessary to study the dynamic evolution of the ancient solar nebula materials. These materials interacted and coevolved with the weak but widespread magnetic field of the ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 3, 2026
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Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have identified the true source of a magnetic effect seen in the material ruthenium dioxide (RuO₂), helping resolve an active debate in the rapidly growing field of altermagnetism. ...
General Physics
Feb 20, 2026
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Some ancient marine organisms produced mysterious magnetic particles of unusually large size, which can now be found as fossils in marine sediments.
Astrobiology
Oct 20, 2025
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Mars is easily identifiable in the night sky by its prominent red hue. Thanks to the fleet of spacecraft that have studied the planet over the last decades, we know that this red color is due to rusted iron minerals in the ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 25, 2025
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Researchers at EPFL have discovered that by shining different wavelengths (colors) of light on a material called magnetite, they can change its state, e.g., making it more or less conducive to electricity. The discovery could ...
Condensed Matter
Jun 21, 2024
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779
According to a study published in the Chemical Engineering Journal, a collaborative research team led by Prof. Wang Hui from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed magnetite ...
Bio & Medicine
May 27, 2024
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