The Little Maghemite Story: A Classic Functional Material

Data storage is an integral part of today’s society and is something that we tend to take for granted. In this article, the history of one of the most important magnetic information storage materials—maghemite—is presented from a unique perspective. As the story of this material unfolds, insight into the generally accepted scientific principles at different periods of time is gained as the major breakthroughs in the understanding of this material and magnetism in general are described.