Figure 5.

The magnetic transition of an interlocked particle ensemble (open squares) is very sharp even though most particles are separated by cracks. For a well-separated particle ensemble (solid circles), the transition broadens significantly, indicating that proximity of particles—and not necessarily a mechanical connection—is required to maintain a sharp, first-order-like transition. The sample images show the measured particle ensembles imaged with computed tomography [82]. (Copyright granted, licence no. 3847701318380.)