View source for Anisotropy energy

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'''Anisotropic energy''' is energy that is directionally specific. The word [[anisotropy]] means "directionally dependent", hence the definition. The most common form of anisotropic energy is [[magnetocrystalline anisotropy]], which is commonly studied in [[Ferromagnetism|ferromagnets]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Takabatake |first1=T. |last2=Teshima |first2=F. |last3=Fujii |first3=H. |last4=Nishigori |first4=S. |last5=Suzuki |first5=T. |last6=Fujita |first6=T. |last7=Yamaguchi |first7=Y. |last8=Sakurai |first8=J. |last9=Jaccard |first9=D. |title=Formation of an anisotropic energy gap in the valence-fluctuating system of CeNiSn |journal=Physical Review B |date=1 May 1990 |volume=41 |issue=13 |pages=9607–9610 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.41.9607 |url=https://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.41.9607 |access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> In ferromagnets, there are islands or domains of atoms that are all coordinated in a certain direction; this spontaneous positioning is often called the "easy" direction, indicating that this is the lowest energy state for these atoms. In order to study magnetocrystalline anisotropy, energy (usually in the form of an [[electric current]]) is applied to the domain, which causes the crystals to deflect from the "easy" to "hard" positions. The energy required to do this is defined as the anisotropic energy. The easy and hard alignments and their relative energies are due to the interaction between spin magnetic moment of each atom and the [[Crystal structure#Lattice systems|crystal lattice]] of the compound being studied.

==See also==
*[[Magnetic anisotropy]]

==References==
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*{{cite journal|last=Brune|first=Harald|title=Nanomagnetism: Probing magnetism at the nanoscale|journal=Nature Nanotechnology|date=November 2007|volume=2|issue=11|pages=674–675|doi=10.1038/nnano.2007.359|pmid=18654402|bibcode=2007NatNa...2..674B|url=http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/135840}}
*{{cite web|last=Moskowitz |first=Bruce M |title=Magnetic Anisotropy |url=http://www.irm.umn.edu/hg2m/hg2m_c/hg2m_c.html |accessdate=5 December 2013}}
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[[Category:Energy (physics)]]
[[Category:Orientation (geometry)]]
[[Category:Magnetic ordering]]