Meet the Magnets
The 36.2 Tesla Resistive Magnet
Vital Statistics
|
 |
Strength |
36.2 tesla |
| Type | Resistive |
| Bore size | 32 mm (~1.25 inches) |
| Online since | December 2005 |
| Cost | $0.5 million |
| Weight | 2,500 kg (2.75 tons) |
| Height | 1.52 meters (~5 feet) |
| Water used per second | 139 liters
(~37 gallons) |
| Power required | 19.6 MW |
|
Overview
This is the world's most powerful resistive magnet. Resistive magnets are also called “powered” or “Bitter” magnets. Unlike superconducting magnets, which can be unplugged after first being powered up, this magnet needs LOTS of electricity to generate its high magnetic field.
Mag Lab engineer Jack Toth examines a Bitter plate.
Like the other resistive magnets here, the 36.2 tesla is constructed of hundreds of flat, round sheets of metal stacked one on top of the other. Made of high-strength copper alloys, these plates can withstand both the pressure resulting from high magnetic fields and the heat resulting from the 19.6 megawatts of electrical power that make it run. These plates are called Florida Bitter plates – “Bitter” after the fellow who invented them in 1936 (Francis Bitter), and “Florida” in honor of the Mag Lab scientists who greatly improved on Bitter’s design, which enabled the creation of more powerful magnets like the 36.2 tesla. The magnetic field is concentrated in the big hole in the middle of the plates; that’s where researchers put their experiments. The smaller holes allow the cold water that keeps the magnet from overheating to run through – at a speed of 45 miles per hour.
This magnet is generally used for condensed matter physics (basic materials science).
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