A Split Magnet is a resistive

electromagnet An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by an electric current. Electromagnets usually consist of wire wound into a coil. A current through the wire creates a magnetic field which is concentrated in the ...

that is separated into two halves, with the small gap that divides the two sides allowing access to a strong magnetic field. The combination of an accessible gap and strong magnetic field allows for the research of how far-infrared particles scatter. In addition, the magnet can also rotate up to 90°, allowing for the magnet to become parallel to the floor. The magnet uses a combination of 28 MW, a current of 160,000 amps and 13380 liters of water (for cooling purposes) per minute used. The strongest (and only) split helix magnet in the world is currently located in Florida State University at the

National High Magnetic Field Laboratory The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (MagLab) is a facility at Florida State University, the University of Florida, and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, that performs magnetic field research in physics, biology, bioengineering ...

, and can generate a field of 25

Tesla Tesla most commonly refers to: * Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), a Serbian-American electrical engineer and inventor * Tesla, Inc., an American electric vehicle and clean energy company, formerly Tesla Motors, Inc. * Tesla (unit) (symbol: T), the SI-d ...

Applications

The magnet is well suited for studies into far-infrared scattering experiments, allowing for insight into the properties of certain materials. This includes the material’s

electronic structure In quantum chemistry, electronic structure is the state of motion of electrons in an electrostatic field created by stationary nuclei. The term encompasses both the wave functions of the electrons and the energies associated with them. Elec ...

, which determines its usefulness in electronics. This information can be used to further the development of smaller, more efficient computers. However, the magnet is not limited to just infrared scattering experiments and can be used for much more, such as

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is a technique used to obtain an infrared spectrum of absorption or emission of a solid, liquid, or gas. An FTIR spectrometer simultaneously collects high-resolution spectral data over a wide spectra ...

and

Electron paramagnetic resonance Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) or electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy is a method for studying materials that have unpaired electrons. The basic concepts of EPR are analogous to those of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), but the sp ...

. These techniques allow for a greater understanding of different materials, with applications ranging from analysis of biological compounds to microscopic imaging. As recently as 2019, an additional function has been added to the magnet, an “Ultrafast Time-Domain Spectrometer”. This

spectrometer A spectrometer () is a scientific instrument used to separate and measure spectral components of a physical phenomenon. Spectrometer is a broad term often used to describe instruments that measure a continuous variable of a phenomenon where th ...

can withstand the 25 tesla magnetic fields produced by the magnet and allows for precise control over the material's charge, lattice, orbital, and spin degrees of freedom. This is especially useful for two dimensional materials (such as

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...

wafers), as the spectrometer can analyze them in time frames around 200 femtoseconds, which is significantly shorter than what traditional systems use.

Development

The concept of the magnet began in 2005 as a request for a resistive magnet that could operate from 25-30 tesla with a split down the middle to give more access during experiments and research. Development of the device took place at the

and took approximately 4 years to build, with prototypes being tested in 2007. To facilitate this design the team behind the magnet developed a new kind of component, the "Split Florida-Helix", to help deal with the immense stress and pressure the vacuum and magnet apply on the structure. The Split Florida-Helix is a unique component of the magnet that allows for an open vacuum space to exist in the magnet. Normally, only conductive material and water cooling tubes would be present in the area where the Split Florida-Helix resides, but because of the special design over 50% of this space is now opened up for access, while still being able to account for the various forces and torques that would be applied. The magnet itself consists of 5 coils, 2 of which are connected in series, and 3 in parallel, which results in the 160kA current being split 4 ways, allowing for optimal division of stress.

References

{{reflist Types of magnets