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Sci Tech
World record for a superconducting magnet
A 30 tesla magnet could lead to advances in sciences Resistive magnets are more costly to operate
Scientists have been aware of the amazing properties of yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) and its potential for magnet technology for 20 years, but only in the past two years has the material become commercially available in the long lengths needed for magnets. YBCO is a high temperature superconductor.
Scientists interested
Scientists are interested in the material because at very low temperatures, the conductor is capable of generating very high magnetic fields.
The development of a 30 tesla magnet could lead to great advances in physics, biology and chemistry research. A collaboration between the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University and industry partner SuperPower Inc. has led to a new world record for a magnetic field created by a superconducting magnet. The new record — 26.8 tesla — was reached in late July at the magnet lab’s High Field Test Facility and brings engineers closer to realising the National Research Council goal of creating a 30-tesla superconducting magnet, according to a Florida State University press release.
The magnet lab’s Applied Superconductivity Center has worked with the company to determine the superconducting and mechanical properties of YBCO and other materials. “This test demonstrates what we had long hoped — that YBCO high-temperature superconductors being made now for electric utility applications also have great potential for high-magnetic-field technology,” said David Larbalestier, director of the Applied Superconductivity Center and chief materials scientist at the magnet lab.
“It seems likely that this conductor technology can be used to make superconducting magnets with fields that will soon exceed 30 tesla. This far exceeds the 22- to 23-tesla limit of all previous niobium-based superconducting magnets.” (Niobium is the material used to build most superconducting magnets.) “In principle, YBCO is capable of producing the highest-field superconducting magnets ever possible,” said W. Denis Markiewicz, a scientist in the lab’s Magnet Science & Technology division. Based on the potential of the material, he said, it’s even possible that it could one day produce magnetic fields as high as 50 tesla.
“What we learned from this test really opens the door to imagining that one day we could use superconducting magnets in place of our resistive magnets,” he said.
No need for power
Resistive magnets, primarily used for physics research, are more costly to operate because they are powered by tremendous amounts of electricity, while superconducting magnets require little or no electrical power to run once they are brought up to full field. — Our Bureau
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