This is not just computer graphics. It’s the magnetic field
of a real bar magnet, imaged using a neutron beam. Neutrons have no electric charge, which enables them to fly straight through a magnetic field and to zip
through thick solids unaffected (SN: 3/18/08) But neutrons possess a magnetic
moment. Like tiny bar magnets, they will tend to align their magnetic moment
with that of a magnetic field.
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.