Chinese researchers have managed to generate a stable magnetic field with an intensity of 35.1 Tesla thanks to a 100 % superconductor magnet – a new record in this category. This success, produced by a team from the Hefei Institute for Physical Sciences in China, could open the way to remarkable innovations in several disciplines of the future.
Technically, it is not the most intense artificial magnetic field ever created. This honor comes back to another magnet of the same institution, which has reached 45,22 Tesla In 2022 – approximately 900,000 times higher than the natural magnetic field of the earth. To understand why this magnetic field of 35.1 t all the same a lot of researchers, we must look at the different technologies involved.
Historically, the first artificial magnetic field records were established thanks to so -called resistive magnets, which are very efficient, but suffer from a major limit. Indeed, to create a magnetic field with this type of device, they must be provided with a certain amount of electricity. However, this current dissipates in the form of heat because of the electrical resistance of the material. The more we aim for a significant power, the more the quantity of heat generated increases rapidly, and we are therefore limited by a threshold beyond which it becomes practically impossible.
Superconductive magnets, still limited wonders
In the mid -1990s, physicists found a solution to blow up this limit: use hybrid magnets, built around a classic coil but also with a second superconductive coil. This term designates materials which, once cooled at a temperature close to absolute zero, become capable of transporting electrical loads without the slightest resistance, and therefore without production of residual heat.
The association of these two elements made it possible to push the limits of intensity while maintaining energy consumption and heat production at reasonable levels. But these hybrid magnets remain dependent on their resistive component, with all the limits that this implies. To switch up a gear, researchers are now working on fully superconductive magnets, theoretically capable of producing extreme magnetic fields using very little energy compared to their resistive equivalents.
The problem is that it is very difficult to do without the resistive part. Beyond a certain threshold, the superconductive magnets lose these properties; The more the intensity of the field increases, the more their ability to transport current falls. In addition, they are built around fragile ceramic elements which find it difficult to support the colossal mechanical constraints exerted by these forces.
The gap is tightening
The challenge is therefore to find concrete solutions to limit the impact of these constraints, so that the superconductive magnets can compete with hybrid magnets in terms of power while retaining their advantages. And this is precisely what Chinese researchers did with this record. By reaching 35.1 Tesla with a fully superconductive magnet, they have shown that this technology could still approach the performance reserved so far for hybrids, while consuming much less energy.
Nuclear merger is a good example. One of the two major experimental approaches, namely the merger by magnetic containment, is entirely based on confining the plasma where the reaction takes place thanks to immense superconductive magnets. The more they will be efficient, the more we can generate and contain these reactions by consuming a minimum of energy, which is essential for the economic viability of future reactors.
In particle physics, these magnets could supply more powerful and more compact accelerators, capable of generating even more violent collisions to probe the structure of matter. We can also cite transport, and more specifically type trains maglevwhich depend on these superconductive magnets.
Obviously, this record does not mean that all these advances are now at hand – but it marks a decisive step, confirming that the superconductive magnets enter a new era where they are no longer only fragile prototypes, but real candidates for the great technologies of the future.
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