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U.S. lab to build world's strongest magnet

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., April 4 (UPI) -- Germany's Hahn-Meitner Institute has contracted with Florida State University to build an $8.7 million hybrid magnet.

The magnet's construction, in coordination with the university's National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, is to be the world's strongest magnet for neutron experiments, eclipsing the 15-telsa system now at the institute.

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When finished in 2011, the high-field magnet will produce a field between 25 tesla and 30 tesla -- more than 500,000 times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field.

The version magnet lab engineers will build for the Hahn-Meitner Institute is different in that its bore, or experimental space, will be conical to allow neutrons to be scattered through large angles. It also will be horizontal, as opposed to the traditional vertical bore of most high-field magnets. These modifications make the magnet ideal for neutron scattering experiments, which are among the best methods for probing atoms to better understand the structure of materials.

The new magnet will also allow scientists to conduct experiments that aren't currently possible.

The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, based at Florida State University, is the world's highest-powered magnet laboratory.

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