Magnet Promises to Revolutionize High-Field Research
By FSU
October 28, 2009
The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory has been awarded nearly $3 million to build a novel kind of superconducting magnet that will break records for magnetic field strength, make possible new types of science and save vast amounts of energy and money.
The magnet, funded by a National Science Foundation grant of $2 million and a matching award from The Florida State University of $1 million, is projected to generate a magnetic field of 32 tesla. (Tesla is the scientific unit of measure of magnetic field strength.) That is more than 3,000 times stronger than a typical refrigerator magnet, and about 45 percent more powerful than the strongest superconducting magnets available today.
As impressive as that sounds, it is just the tip of the scientific iceberg. The material that will be used for this magnet, a type of high-temperature superconductor called yttrium barium copper oxide, or YBCO, promises to revolutionize research in high magnetic fields. About 5 miles of YBCO cable will go into the new magnet.
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