  Skyrmions are vortex-like textures of magnetic moments found in some
magnetically ordered materials. Here we describe the origin of the skyrmion and
discuss the experimental realization of skyrmions in magnetic materials, the
dynamic properties of the skyrmion and the potentially useful interaction of
skyrmions with electrons. Our discussion is based on the physics of fields and
allows us to touch on notions from field theory and topology that illustrate
how skyrmions can be understood as part of a family of defects in an ordered
field, and hint at other topological objects that await our discovery.
