World Record Magnet Likely to Bring
Scientific Breakthroughs
The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory recently introduced a
world-record magnet that is expected to yield important discoveries
in the fields of chemical and biomedical research.
The
superconducting magnet, which stands 16 feet tall and weighs more
than 15 tons, was no overnight accomplishment. A team of engineers
based at the magnet lab worked for 13 years to develop, design,
manufacture and test it at the laboratory. Several outside
companies, including Intermagnetics General Corporation,
collaborated with the magnet lab. Now, with its commissioning,
scientists from around the world will be able to expand the horizons
of scientific investigation using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies.
At full strength, the magnet has a magnetic field of 21 teslas,
teslas being the measure of magnetic field intensity. By comparison,
the Earth's magnetic field is about 0.00005 teslas.
What makes this magnet particularly useful for scientific research,
however, is its bore size of 105 mm, or just over 4 inches. The bore
is the space within the magnet that holds the sample being tested.
The larger the bore size, the larger the sample, and the greater the
range of scientific experiments that can be conducted.
"The commissioning of the magnet lab's new 900-megahertz NMR magnet
marks the successful completion of the third of the ‘Big Three'
magnet projects on which the lab was founded," Boebinger said.
"Whereas our other big magnet projects specialized in making the
most powerful magnetic fields, this magnet specializes in precision.
The 900-megahertz magnet delivers 21-tesla magnetic fields that vary
by less than 0.0000002 teslas over a volume roughly equal to the
size of a small orange, an accomplishment unrivaled anywhere else in
the world.
"In addition to their still-unequaled achievements in very powerful
magnets over the past decade, this outstanding engineering project
demonstrates our Magnet Science and Technology Team to be uniquely
talented in bringing precision superconducting magnets to scientific
research," Boebinger said. "The incredibly precise magnetic fields
of the 900-megahertz magnet immediately position our chemistry and
biology research programs at the forefront of magnetic resonance
research, research that will help us understand the workings of
biological molecules, as well as the workings of the cell and the
brain. Its large volume also enables us to probe the unusual
properties of materials under extreme conditions of heat and
pressure similar to those found deep in the Earth."
Science performed using the magnet will range from materials
research to macromolecular biological structure determination and
non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging of laboratory animals.
Timothy Cross, an FSU chemistry professor and director of the NMR
Spectroscopy and Imaging Program at the magnet lab, said the new
magnet will offer opportunities for observing specific chemical and
biological properties that were not available at lower magnetic
fields.
"There are unique benefits that arise at high fields. Some atoms
become observable that were not practical to observe at a lower
field," he said. "In particular, we are finding that oxygen, a major
component of most biological molecules, is observable in the new
magnet. This provides us with a new tool for studying biological
systems that was not previously available."
Cross added that the new magnet can be used to determine the shapes
and chemical properties of large biological molecules, such as
proteins and nucleic acids.
"Pharmaceuticals or drugs bind to biological molecules and interfere
or enhance their function. For instance, a drug, amantadine, binds
to a particular protein (the M2 protein) in the influenza viral
coat, preventing it from functioning and terminating the viral
infection. Today, we are using the new magnet with collaborators
from Northwestern University and Brigham Young University to define
the detailed shape and chemical properties of the M2 protein so that
a more specific drug for this protein can be designed."
In similar fashion, the electrical and physical properties of
materials can be characterized, leading to the development of novel
materials, Cross added.
For more information visit
www.magnet.fsu.edu.
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