Liquid crystal is a state of matter that exhibits properties of both liquid and solid. It can flow like a liquid, while its constituent molecules are aligned as in a solid. Liquid crystal is widely used nowadays, for example, as a core element of LCD devices.

The magnetic analog of this kind of material is dubbed the “spin-nematic phase,” where spin moments play the role of the molecules. However, it has not yet been directly observed despite its prediction a half-century ago. The main challenge stems from the fact that most conventional experimental techniques are insensitive to spin quadrupoles, which are the defining features of this spin-nematic phase.

But now, for the first time in the world, a team of researchers led by Professor Kim Bumjoon at the IBS Center for Artificial Low-Dimensional Electronic Systems in South Korea has succeeded at directly observing spin quadrupoles. This work was made possible through remarkable achievements over the last decades in synchrotron facility development.

Personal growth and success require a focus on emotional intelligence, individualized practices, and a shift away from material desires and instant gratification.

Questions to inspire discussion.

What is the key to success?
—The key to success is not just high IQ, but also emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and understanding oneself as a human instrument, which can lead to improvement in all aspects of life.

Berkshire Hathaway said on Tuesday it has shed its holdings in General Motors and Procter & Gamble, and trimmed its stake in Amazon.com, as the conglomerate controlled by billionaire Warren Buffett boosted its cash pile to a record $157.2 billion.

In a regulatory filing detailing its U.S.-listed stock holdings as of Sept. 30, Berkshire reported no holdings in GM and P&G, after reporting stakes of $848 million and $48 million in June, and said it reduced its stake in Amazon by 5%.

Berkshire also appeared to have shed what had been a $621 million stake in Celanese, a specialty materials company.

Ferroicity and multiferroicity

Ferroic materials are those that exhibit a spontaneous ordering of their electric, magnetic or structural properties. The best-known example of ferroicity is ferromagnetism, in which the magnetic moments of a material all point in one direction, but other types of ferroic ordering are possible. In ferroelectricity, for example, it is the electric polarization that spontaneously orders itself, while ferroelastic materials display spontaneous strain.

Multiferroicity occurs when several properties of a material have their own individual preferred states. For example, a magnetic multiferroic material might have magnetic moments that point in one direction, and electric charge that also shifts in a certain direction. Importantly, the two phenomena are independent of each other.