World's Strongest Magnetic Field Generated From A Tiny Magnet

The recorded electromagnet is the size of an empty roll of toilet paper. [Image: MagLab]

World's Strongest Magnet

Engineers at the US High Magnetic Fields Laboratory (MagLab) built the Earth's strongest magnet with a record 45.5 teslas magnetic density flux.

Unlike its gigantic predecessor, the 45T, which held the record for almost two decades, the new configuration is much smaller and uses much less energy.

This was possible with the use of wires of a rare earth compound called copper-barium oxide (REBCO), which becomes superconducting at -196 ° C. This cold end also allows the creation of coils without the need of insulation - the coil reaches 1,260 A / mm2.

The small record holder, however, is not yet a full-fledged working magnet because he was only able to sustain his magnetic field for a few seconds. But the experiment showed that magnets made of copper oxide superconductors are a viable option for longer-lasting versions - the most common is to use niobium.

And it's good news considering that its predecessor, the 45T, which is fully functional, is a monster 6.7 meters tall and 35 tons that consumes 30 MW of energy - it's 15,000 liters of water pumped per minute to keep it going, refrigerated it.

Details of the construction of the strongest electromagnet in the world. [Image: Hahn et al. - 10.1038 / s41586-019-1293-1]

"We are really opening a new door. This technology has very good potential to completely change the horizons of high field applications because of its compact nature," said Seungyong Hahn, a MagLab engineer. 

Bibliography:  45.5-tesla direct-current magnetic field generated with a superconducting high-temperature magnet SEUNGYONG Hahn, Kwanglok Kim, Kwangmin Kim, Hu Xinbo, Thomas Painter, Iain Dixon, Seokho Kim, Kabindra R. Bhattarai, So Noguchi, Jan Jaroszynski, David C. Larbalestier  Nature  DOI: 10.1038 / s41586-019-1293-1