A model was proposed in order to explain the effect of a magnetic field upon such hardening in metals. It was concluded that the magnetic field facilitated the de-pinning of dislocations from paramagnetic pinning points. As a result, the dislocations were more flexible and reoriented more easily in the internal stress field. This led to a more efficient minimization of the dislocation energy and to an additional work hardening of the crystal. The model which was proposed here permitted the principal features of the effect to be described. It was suggested that it might be possible to control the effect by using a microwave magnetic field.

Work Hardening of Crystals in a Magnetic Field. M.Molotskii, V.Fleurov: Philosophical Magazine Letters, 1996, 73[1], 11-5