A Chinese hybrid magnet has broken the previous record for the strongest stable magnetic field, scientists claim.

At the Steady High Field Facility (SHMFF) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, magnets developed over the years have achieved a steady magnetic field of 45.22 Tesla. This is tens of thousands of times stronger than your average keepsake fridge magnet.

This breaks the 45 Tesla steady-state magnetic field record held by the US National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (MagLab) since 1999. This breakthrough sets new limits on conditions commonly used to study a variety of physical phenomena and provides new opportunities for research. and innovation.

Research teams at both MagLab and SHMFF have been working on their own hybrid magnets for some time. This is a magnet that uses two different methods of creating a magnetic field. An outer superconducting ring and an inner resistive Bitter magnet (a magnet based on stacked plates). Each of these techniques has its own limitations. Bitter magnets require a much higher power input.

Combining the two techniques greatly relaxes these limitations and allows the propagation of strong and stable magnetic fields. This is how MagLab developed a 45 Tesla magnet and in 2016 he SHMFF achieved a stable magnetic field strength of 40 Tesla. This is an amazing achievement in itself.

But the team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences wasn’t content to leave it alone, and has been working on magnets ever since. Finally, the hard work paid off.

“To achieve [a] Physicist Guangli Kuang, academic director of the Institute of High Magnetic Fields, Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: The disk has also been optimized. ”

With a power input of 26.9 megawatts, the team was able to achieve a record of 45.22 Tesla. Again, the magnet looks like a leader. MagLab’s 45 Tesla magnet requires 30 megawatts of power input.

According to the team, the SHMFF magnet represents a step forward in materials science.

“The hybrid magnet at the National Stationary High Magnetic Field Experimental Facility generates the world’s highest stationary magnetic field, effectively improving the experimental conditions for scientists to carry out materials science research, and is an essential and important tool for small-molecule research.” -power electronic materials and other fields,” the team wrote on the High Magnetic Field Institute’s website.

“As the strength of the magnetic field generated by hybrid magnets increases, so does its openness and sharing level, as well as user service levels.”

Meanwhile, MagLab holds the record for the most powerful magnetic field ever produced on Earth. In 2019, a superconducting magnet was commissioned and he briefly achieved a strength of 45.5 Tesla. We’re waiting to see if future improvements will allow us to officially take the lead.