World's Strongest Magnetic Field Is Demonstrated

lazarus_ writes "PORTLAND, Ore. -- Researchers at Florida State University's National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee achieved the holy grail of magnetism recently when their high-temperature superconductor attained the coveted 25-Tesla field strength record."

Comments

Re:Biological effects?

[AllenChristopher]

I don't think so. Titanium in an of itself is not particularly sensitive to magnetic fields because it is not a ferro-magnetic metal. That's one of the reasons they use it. If, for example, you have a metal screw in your body and now you need an MRI, you'll be in trouble if it's, say, steel. Titanium implants of recent manufacture are generally considered MRI safe up to 1.5 Tesla, I think, and the issues people are concerned about there are generally heating, sometimes induction.

Still, at 25 Tesla you wouldn't want to get too close. If your screw isn't completely pure, and nothing ever is, the impurities may lead to little bits of it being magnetically affected. That can lead to deformation and such. It's not that you're entirely safe around magnet that big, it's that the screw isn't going to tear out of your bone at splintering speeds, "severely injuring" you.