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Haphazardly arranged graphite flakes in a conventional anode (above left and center): lithium ions attempting to dock or return to the cathode are forced to take detours (above right). But if the graphite is subjected to a rotating magnetic field (below), the flakes in the suspension align themselves vertically in parallel formation. They keep this orientation after they have been dried (below center). The ions have shorter paths (below right). Credit: Juliette Billaud, Florian Bouville, Tommaso Magrini/Paul Scherrer Institute, ETH Zurich