Perovskite minerals are both the most ordinary and the most exotic of the new materials created by man. Superconducting perovskites can conduct electricity without any loss, whilst giant magnetoresistive perovskites convert magnetic fields into electric signals.

These two properties, which are particularly interesting for the manufacture of tomorrow's electronic components, are related to the octagonal structure of metal atoms. Neutrons can be used to determine both the structure and the magnetic potential of these.