World's Most Powerful Magnet Under Construction in Florida

The $10 million magnet currently under construction at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Florida is expected to reach a 100 teslas when finished—about 67 times more powerful than a typical MRI machine.

That is just the kind of power needed to test the properties of high-temperature superconductors like iron oxyarsenide, which may result in better, cheaper MRI machines and high-voltage power lines.

It could also be used for certain zero-gravity experiments and magnetic propulsion systems that could eliminate the need for traditional rockets down the line.

The magnet will have to resist Lorentz forces “equivalent to the explosive force of 200 sticks of dynamite packed into a volume of space the size of a marble.”



[IEEE Spectrum Online via gizmodo.com]