Physics World March 2021

Pots of potential: archaeology sheds light on our magnetic past

The idea that a record of the Earth’s magnetic past might be stored in objects made from fired clay dates back to the 16th century. Known as “archaeomagnetism”, this field of research is helping geophysicists gain insights into local changes in the Earth’s magnetic field over the past 3000 years, and – as Rachel Brazil explains in her cover feature – how it might change in future. Also in this issue, Davide Michieletto explains how physicists are using DNA to create a new generation of “topologically active” materials, while Rob Lea looks at the new generation of cosmologists tackling what Einstein once called his “biggest blunder”.

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