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The Chinese Academy of Sciences has created a superconducting magnet of 35.6 tesla, more than 700,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field at the surface, capable of operating for over 200 hours while consuming little energy, and the system is installed in Beijing as a shared tool for research in quantum materials, superconductors, biomolecules, and nuclear fusion
China has just activated a magnet that is 700,000 times more powerful than the Earth’s magnetic field.
The system, created by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, reaches 35.6 tesla and is the most powerful fully superconducting magnet ever built.
For comparison, the Earth’s magnetic field at the surface is only a few tens of microteslas, a tiny fraction of a tesla. The new Chinese magnet operates with a magnetic field approximately ten times greater than that of an MRI.
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But what makes this magnet different is not just its power.
Unlike many high-power magnets that only work for short periods, this one is designed to maintain its maximum field for over 200 consecutive hours, consuming little energy, because it is made of superconducting materials that conduct electricity with zero resistance.
The combination of a magnetic field 700,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field, stability for days, and low consumption is what makes this machine a practical tool, not just a record.
What does it mean to have a magnet 700,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field
The intensity of a magnetic field is measured in tesla.
The Earth’s magnetic field at the surface is a few tens of microteslas, a tiny fraction of a tesla. The new Chinese magnet reaches 35.6 tesla, placing it in a completely different category from anything that exists in the Earth’s nature.
A hospital MRI, which already requires huge coils and careful shielding, operates at 1.5 to 3 tesla. The Chinese magnet operates at ten times that.
The equipment has an opening of 35 millimeters in diameter, sufficient to accommodate crystals, small devices, or biological samples in the center of the highest intensity region.
This detail makes the system practical for real research: scientists can position samples directly in the center of a magnetic field 700,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field and obtain precise and clean measurements.
It’s not just raw power. It’s usable power.
Why does the magnet work for 200 hours while consuming little energy while others consume megawatts
The magnet is described as fully superconducting, meaning that all coils are made of materials that conduct electricity with zero resistance when cooled to very low temperatures.
In practice, a conventional high-power magnet consumes megawatts of energy continuously, like a heater running at maximum power all day long. The Chinese superconducting magnet operates more like an efficient device that hardly weighs on the electricity bill.
Within the system, a high-temperature superconducting magnet is combined with a lower-temperature external magnet.
This configuration allows for increasing the intensity of the magnetic field without the coils breaking or losing the superconducting state.
The team raised the magnetic field from a previous result of 30 tesla to 35.6 tesla while maintaining the same 35-millimeter opening, and the system operates continuously for over 200 hours without issues at ultralow temperatures and high pressures.
This stability for more than eight consecutive days allows scientists to conduct complex multi-day experiments, something impossible with magnets that operate for minutes or hours.
What do scientists intend to do with a magnetic field 700,000 times stronger than the Earth’s
The magnet is installed at the Synergistic Extreme Conditions Facility, on the outskirts of Beijing.
This facility combines temperatures close to absolute zero, extreme pressures, intense magnetic fields, and ultrafast lasers in a single complex, functioning as an open laboratory where teams from China and abroad can request usage time.
A scientist can cool a material almost to absolute zero, compress it with gigantic pressure, shine ultrafast light on it, and expose it to a magnetic field of 35.6 tesla, all in the same location.
Magnetic fields of this intensity allow tracking tiny changes in the movement of electrons within solids, which is essential for studying quantum materials and superconductors.
Biophysicists also plan to use the stable magnetic field to investigate the structure of complex biomolecules, proteins, and cellular components, opening possibilities for future medical applications.
Although the magnet will not be used in a hospital now, the technology may influence future medical imaging systems that operate faster or consume less energy.
The goal of 40 tesla and what comes next for the world’s most powerful magnetic field
Engineers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences are already working on improvements.
The goal is to expand the magnetic field beyond 40 tesla, widen the internal diameter to accommodate more types of experiments, and strengthen the cooling system to reduce long-term costs.
Researcher Luo Jianlin highlighted that the magnet can maintain the maximum magnetic field for over 200 hours without problems, which widely meets the needs of the scientific community.
This reliability means that international teams are more likely to book time in Beijing and develop complex experiments around this machine.
The true test of the technology is not the record of 35.6 tesla, but the discoveries that will arise from experiments in the coming years, and that is why the world wants to know what China intends to do with a magnetic field 700,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field.
The study describing the magnet was published in the journal Superconductivity.
700,000 times the Earth’s magnetic field, 200 hours, and a future that no one can predict
China has activated a superconducting magnet of 35.6 tesla, 700,000 times more powerful than the Earth’s magnetic field, which operates for over 200 hours while consuming little energy.
The system is in Beijing, open to scientists from around the world, and will be used for research in quantum materials, superconductors, biomolecules, and nuclear fusion, with plans to expand to over 40 tesla in the coming years.
When a country creates a magnetic field 700,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field and maintains it stable for days, the possibilities go far beyond what any prediction can anticipate. The record has already been broken. Now the important part begins: what to do with it.
Did you know that a magnet can be 700,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field? Do you think this technology will change medicine or energy? What impressed you more: the power or the 200 hours of operation? Leave your comments and share with those who love science.
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