Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 17, 2026

10:02
Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy as a Unique Probe for Lipid Membrane Dynamics and Membrane-Protein Interactions
Published on: May 27, 2021
4.6K
Snell's Law for Spin Waves
J Stigloher1, M Decker1, H S Körner1
1Department of Physics, Regensburg University, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
Physical Review Letters
|July 30, 2016
Summary
Researchers observed Snell
Area of Science:
- Condensed matter physics
- Magnetism
- Wave phenomena
Background:
- Snell's law describes light refraction at interfaces.
- Magnetostatic spin waves are crucial for magnonics.
- Anisotropy in magnetic films affects wave behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally verify Snell's law for magnetostatic spin waves.
- To investigate wave behavior at a magnetic interface.
- To explore deviations from isotropic Snell's law.
Main Methods:
- Imaging of incident, reflected, and refracted spin waves.
- Utilizing a thickness step in Permalloy films as an interface.
- Analyzing wave dispersion relations in different magnetic media.
Main Results:
- Experimental confirmation of Snell's law for spin waves.
- Observation of deviations from isotropic Snell's law for angles > 25°.
- Demonstration of thickness-induced modifications in spin wave wavelength and amplitude.
Conclusions:
- Snell's law is applicable to magnetostatic spin waves.
- Anisotropic dispersion leads to deviations from optical Snell's law.
- Thickness step enables control over spin wave properties for magnonics.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Interference and Diffraction
53.2K
Interference is a characteristic phenomenon exhibited by waves. When two electromagnetic waves interact with their peaks and troughs coinciding, a resulting wave with enhanced amplitude is produced. This is known as constructive interference. In this case, the two waves interacting are in phase with each other.
53.2K
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Overview
2.2K
NMR-active nuclei have energy levels called 'spin states' that are associated with the orientations of their nuclear magnetic moments. In the absence of a magnetic field, the nuclear magnetic moments are randomly oriented, and the spin states are degenerate. When an external magnetic field is applied, the spin states have only 2 + 1 orientations available to them. A proton with = ½ has two available orientations. Similarly, for a quadrupolar nucleus with a nuclear spin value of one, the...
2.2K
Propagation Speed of Electromagnetic Waves
4.9K
Electromagnetic waves are consistent with Ampere's law. Assuming there is no conduction current Ampere's law is given as:
4.9K
The de Broglie Wavelength
34.2K
In the macroscopic world, objects that are large enough to be seen by the naked eye follow the rules of classical physics. A billiard ball moving on a table will behave like a particle; it will continue traveling in a straight line unless it collides with another ball, or it is acted on by some other force, such as friction. The ball has a well-defined position and velocity or well-defined momentum, p = mv, which is defined by mass m and velocity v at any given moment. This is the typical...
34.2K
Speed of a Transverse Wave
4.2K
The speed of a wave depends on the characteristics of the medium. For example, in the case of a guitar, the strings vibrate to produce the sound. The speed of the waves on the strings and the wavelength determine the frequency of the sound produced. The strings on a guitar have different thicknesses but may be made of similar material. They have different linear densities, and the linear density is defined as the mass per length.
One of the key properties of any wave is the wave speed. Light...
One of the key properties of any wave is the wave speed. Light...
4.2K
Reflection of Waves
4.7K
When a wave travels from one medium to another, it gets reflected at the boundary of the second medium. A common example of this is when a person yells at a distance from a cliff and hears the echo of their voice. The sound waves (longitudinal waves) traveling in the air are reflected from the bounding cliff. Similarly, flipping one end of a string whose other end is tied to a wall causes a pulse (transverse wave) to travel through the string, which gets reflected upon reaching the wall. In...
4.7K

