Frustration and emergence in spinner ices and glasses

In this study, we introduce a macroscopic platform made of magnetic "spinners" to replicate the behavior of frustrated magnetic systems such as spin ices and spin glasses. Each spinner is composed of a 3D-printed part mounted on a ball bearing, containing three magnetic dipoles. By varying the dipole orientations, we define four different spinner types. The interactions between spinners result from nine dipole-dipole interactions, allowing us to recreate key features of spin ice physics, including high ground-state degeneracy and metastable states.

We experimentally explore the system's response to sinusoidal perturbations and observe that the vibrational behavior depends strongly on the system’s state and local configuration. Using both continuous and discrete models, we analyze how the number of metastable states and the energy per spinner evolve, confirming signatures of spin ice behavior. By introducing a controlled level of disorder, we reproduce spin glass-like dynamics.

We also demonstrate that the system can process information by building basic logic gates (AND, OR, NOT, XOR) using the orientation of spinners. The output orientation corresponds to the minimum energy configuration. This versatile and accessible platform opens new avenues for studying emergent phenomena in disordered systems and for developing mechanical logic and information storage technologies.