Understanding next-generation electronic devices: Smallest atomic displacements ever

Understanding next-generation electronic devices: Smallest atomic displacements ever: Scientists have developed a novel X-ray technique for imaging atomic displacements in materials with unprecedented accuracy. They have applied their technique to determine how a recently discovered class of exotic materials -- multiferroics -- can be simultaneously both magnetically and electrically ordered. Multiferroics are also candidate materials for new classes of electronic devices. The discovery is a major breakthrough in understanding multiferroics.