Like a balloon, peculiar magnet grows and shrinks

Alloy of iron and gallium increases volume in a magnetic field

magnet

STRETCHY MAGNET  Layers of roughly 40-micrometer-long magnetic cells inside an iron-gallium alloy, seen in this micrograph, enable the material to expand and contract in a magnetic field.

Courtesy of H. Chopra

An unusual magnet expands and contracts when exposed to a magnetic field.