How does this all fit into the race for nuclear fusion energy? For one thing, magnets are key for nuclear fusion reactors. Meanwhile, high-temperature superconductors may operate at temps as high as around -173 Celsius, which is still extraordinarily cold, but requires a lot less energy and bulk. It requires a vast infrastructure network and huge amounts of energy to do so, though. Traditional ("low-temperature") superconductors must be cooled to nearly absolute zero, which is -273 degrees Celsius. But the temperature at which that change occurs matters a great deal.
Superconducting magnets are made from materials known collectively as superconductors, which are typically metals and alloys that are cooled until they conduct electricity with literally zero resistance. (A tesla is the metric unit for magnetic flux per square meter.) That breakthrough is a big deal, but there's something equally important about the superconducting electromagnets: they meet the requirements to be considered "high-temperature." Researchers say this is a positive step toward proving fusion power plants will one day be able to produce more power than they consume.Īfter three years of collaboration, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), along with the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), reached the 20-tesla milestone on September 5.
The added power (with reduced bulk) could help enable nuclear fusion.įor the first time, scientists used a superconducting electromagnet to create a field strength of 20 teslas-the most powerful magnetic field ever created on Earth. The magnet is as powerful as a previous structure 40 times its size. A new high-temperature superconducting magnet has reached 20 teslas.
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