smallest atomic displacements observed ever: a major breakthrough in understanding multofeeroic

An incredible discovery and major breakthrough in understanding the behaviour of multiferroics, materials for the next-generation electronic devices: using a novel X-ray technique, atomic displacements in materials are determined with unprecedented accuracy, the technique applied on multiferroic TbMnO3 material unambiguously shows that "the electric polarisation in the multiferroic studied proceeds from the relative displacement of charges of different signs, rather than the transfer of charge from one atom to another." read more: http://www.lightsources.org/cms/?pid=1004600