A Chinese laboratory has created the world’s most powerful steady magnetic field.
On 12 August, the field strength of a high-powered hybrid magnet at the Steady High Magnetic Field Facility (SHMFF) in Hefei, China, was recorded as being 45.22 Tesla (T).
The previous record was set at a US laboratory in 1999, when a stable magnetic field of 45 T was measured.
In 2018, the highest ever magnetic field strength was recorded at a colossal 1,200 T. However, it didn’t make the record books as the field wasn’t stable.
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Built in 2016, the Chinese magnet originally produced a field strength of 40 T, but scientists have spent the last six years increasing its power.
Professor Kuang Guangli, the academic director of the High Magnetic Field Laboratory of Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CHMFL), explained in a statement: “To achieve higher magnetic field, we innovated the structure of the magnet, and developed new materials.”
China’s quite good at having very large gadgets, and the country also possesses Sky Eye, the world’s largest radio telescope.
Back in June, China claimed that Sky Eye had detected a new type of electromagnetic signal, which the country said may be a sign of alien civilisations.
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The findings were published on the state-backed Science and Technology Daily, however were quickly deleted.
The report is said to have cited Zhang Tonjie, the chief scientist of China’s extraterrestrial civilisation search team.
Tonjie noted that suspicious signals could just be some sort of radio interference and would need to be investigated further.
Sky Eye’s construction wrapped up in 2016, and speaking at the time, Douglas Vakoch, president of METI International, an organisation that’s dedicated to detecting extraterrestrial life, said: "China's latest telescope will be able to look faster and further than past searches for extraterrestrial intelligence.”
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He added: “Because of FAST's incredible sensitivity, it will be able to chart the hydrogen distribution even in far flung galaxies."
During the telescope’s construction, Wu Xiangping, the director-general of the Chinese Astronomical Society, said that Sky Eye would greatly aid the search for alien life.
He explained: "Having a more sensitive telescope, we can receive weaker and more distant radio messages.
"It will help us to search for intelligent life outside the galaxy and explore the origins of the universe."
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Topics: China