Materials scientists, physicists, magnet experts and engineers from seven institutions have come together on the “Very High Field Superconducting Magnet Collaboration” to test a new superconducting material, BSCCO2212. Its brittle qualities make it difficult to work with, and researchers are trying to find the best way to heat and cool the material so it can eventually be used in a variety of applications, including next generation accelerators, industry and medicine.
The project, which began last summer, is possible thanks to $2 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. According to Bruce Strauss, General Accelerator Development program manager for the Department of Energy, this project is the first to be magnet-driven as opposed to being focused on electricity transmission.
Ken Marken, a collaborator from Los Alamos National Laboratory, says the experiment will be mostly trial and error, but with results that will be useable.
Read additional information from the Fermilab website.
