A new family of magnetic molecules may point the way to computer memory that can be bent and flexed like plastic. A group has synthesized three carbon-based (organic) nickel compounds that become magnetic spontaneously at room temperature--an extremely rare find. If researchers can figure out how these materials form and how to control that process, they might be able to turn similar compounds into pliable magnetic plastics.

Past examples of magnetic organic materials were either unstable in air or were mostly made of metal, making them unsuitable for linking together into a plastic, says chemist Robin Hicks of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, lead author of the study reporting the find in this week's Nature. "There's been relatively few success stories in actually making a molecule that's magnetic at room temperature," he says......Read on.....http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=321E8B66-E7F2-99DF-3954EAC629ECD324&ref=rss

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