7 Impossible Things Happening Right Now

4. Conjouring Up Mass Using Magnets

For the first time, an international team of researchers have been able to switch an object's mass "on and off" using a magnetic field.

Massless particles are weird enough to begin with They found that electrons with no mass can transform from "slim and fast" to "fat and slow" when a magnetic field of 60 Tesla (a million times more intense than the earth's magnetic field) is applied to them. So long as the magnetic field can be manipulated, then so can the properties of the particles.

Scientists at the moment are excited about the opportunities this could open up for the development of more sophisticated sensors or actuators, or whatever else scientists get excited about, but like many great breakthroughs, acknowledge that some of the biggest consequences of this kind of technology are as yet unforeseen. Being able to manipulate something like mass, or even being able to figure out why the heck a magnetic field would impart mass in the first place, could have incredible implications for future technology.