Magnet design promises brighter days for future experiments

Magnet design promises brighter days for future experiments

Researchers may soon have the ability to direct and scatter laser light at a sample not only down the center of a magnet, but also from four ports on the side—a potential breakthrough for applications as diverse as MRIs, disk drives, lasers, and microscopes. Developed by engineers at Florida State University’s National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (Tallahassee, FL), the magnet technology — dubbed the Split Florida Helix — promises scientists the ability to learn more about the intrinsic properties of materials by shining light on crystals from angles not previously available in such high magnetic fields.

By 2010, researchers at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory believe a new field-split magnet based on recent technological developments will be at their fingertips.

Magnet engineers worldwide have been trying to solve the problem of creating a magnet with side access at the mid-section, but they have met with little success in higher fields. Instead of fashioning a tiny pinhole to create as little disruption as possible, as other labs have tried, the research team created four big elliptical ports crossing through the midsection of the magnet—opening up 50% of the total space available for experiments.

“It’s different from any traditional magnet that we’ve ever built before, and even the fabrication of our new parts was very challenging,” said magnet lab engineer Jack Toth. “You have enough to worry about with traditional magnets, and then you try to cut huge holes from all four sides from which you can access the magnet. Basically, near the midplane, more than half of the magnet structure is cut away for the access ports, and it’s still supposed to work and make high magnetic fields.”

The new magnet—which should be available by 2010—is capable of reaching fields above 25 tesla. By comparison, the highest field split magnet in the world attains 18 tesla. For more information, contact Jack Toth at 850-644-0854, by e-mail at
, or visit http://www.magnet.fsu.edu.

Ralph Raiola