How spintronics went from the lab to the iPod.

In 1988, Albert Fert and Peter Grünberg independently discovered that the electrical resistance of structures made of alternating layers of magnetic and non-magnetic metals can change by an unexpectedly large amount in the presence of an applied magnetic field. Within a decade, this seemingly esoteric observation had revolutionized the electronics industry by allowing hard drives to store everincreasing amounts of data. And when Fert and Grünberg shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2007 for the discovery of giant magnetoresistance (GMR), the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that “GMR technology may also be regarded as one of the first major applications of the nanotechnology that is now so popular in a very diverse range of fields.” (ref. 1). However, the discovery of GMR is interesting for reasons beyond its ‘nano-ness’. The story of GMR raises a number of questions about the nature of contemporary knowledge production2. Does the venerable linear model3,4 — with basic research leading to applications — apply to nanoscience and technology? Or, as some have argued, is nanotechnology an example of ‘post-academic’ science, funded by governments and corporations to solve specific problems rather than advancing knowledge for the sake of knowledge?5,6