Together the inner and outer magnets can already create 90 teslas. Teslas measure the pull of a magnetic field. Even one tesla is quite powerful. The Earth's magnetic field is about 50 microteslas. An average MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine ranges from 0.5 to 1.5 teslas. The scientists hope that within months they can develop the new electromagnet to reach their target goal of 100 teslas. This won't be the first 100-tesla electromagnet. Technically it won't even be the world's most powerful magnet. Electromagnets as strong as 1,000 teslas have been created before. The new electromagnet will be the world's first reusable 100-tesla magnet. All other magnets of this power were one-and-done. The powerful forces the other electromagnets created tore themselves, and usually the samples being studied, apart milliseconds after they were turned on. Those magnets have their uses, says Boebinger, but destroying samples can be a problem and building new magnets can be expensive. Studying the same material over and over without destroying it could help scientists tease out the properties of superconductors and other novel materials, said Boebinger, who points out that previous magnet work at the lab helped produce neodymium magnets that enabled wireless phones, cordless drills, and other handheld electronic devices. New materials, like iron oxyarsenide, could eventually lead to high definition MRI scans or power lines that don't lose any energy to heat and would save consumers millions of dollars each year. Eventually, however, even this electromagnet will break under the incredible pressures, and when it does it will be loud. "They have to evacuate the entire building when they turn the magnet on," said Boebinger. "A magnetic disassembly will make a big boom." Related Links: Discovery News blog: Interior Design |
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