Ar-Rehman

Record-breaking 35.6 tesla magnet is 700,000 times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field

China has generated a steady magnetic field 700,000 times stronger than Earth’s using a magnet made entirely from superconducting materials, establishing the strongest stable field of its kind ever reported. The magnet enabled extreme-condition experiments for global research teams and build an ultra-low temperature high magnetic field quantum oscillation experimental station at Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility in Huairou District, Beijing. China has set a new benchmark in extreme magnet science after researchers built the strongest all-superconducting user magnet ever. Such sustained strength turns extreme magnetism from a brief laboratory stunt into a controllable force which researchers can plan around and depend on. Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that a new magnet reached a central magnetic field of 35.6 tesla at a national experiment facility in Beijing, marking a global first for this class of research equipment and opening fresh possibilities for high-field science. The experiment was carried out at the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility, a major platform designed to host scientists from China and abroad. The result places the country among the leaders in high-temperature superconducting technology and gives researchers access to magnetic fields far beyond what is available in conventional laboratories.

Inside the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility in Beijing (SECUF), the magnet produced that field through a 1.4-inch (3.6-cm) opening designed for real experiments. Engineers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) built and operated the system to deliver that strength reliably, verifying that the field could be sustained without instability. Unlike earlier high-field attempts that spiked briefly, this magnet held its record intensity under controlled conditions meant for repeat use. This stability sets the stage for understanding how such strength was engineered and what limits still remain. The new magnet is an all-superconducting user system, meaning it relies entirely on superconducting materials to generate intense magnetic fields with minimal energy loss. It provides a usable bore of 35 mm (about 1.38 inches), allowing experiments to be conducted directly in the field. The magnetic intensity achieved is roughly 12 to 24 times stronger than that of a hospital MRI scanner and more than 700,000 times stronger than Earth’s natural magnetic field. This scale of performance is essential for studying how materials behave under extreme conditions which cannot be replicated otherwise. Designed as a shared research tool, the magnet has already been opened to domestic and international users. According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it is intended to support frontier experiments in materials science, life sciences and other fields where strong, stable magnetic environments are critical.

Stronger magnets also sharpen instruments which probe matter, especially tools that read tiny signals from atoms and molecules. In nuclear magnetic resonance, a method which reads molecules in a strong magnet, higher field strengths separate signals which would otherwise overlap. Clearer spectra help chemists and biologists map complex structures, which matters for materials research and drug design. Because the new magnet is a user system, those gains can spread beyond one lab which owns rare gear. The development was the result of close cooperation between multiple research bodies under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Institute of Electrical Engineering led the design, manufacturing, and system integration of the superconducting magnet itself. At the same time, the Institute of Physics focused on addressing technical challenges in system health monitoring and precision measurement for high-temperature superconducting components. Earlier versions of the system reached lower field levels in 2023. Since then, researchers have upgraded materials, optimized structural design and refined manufacturing processes. These changes allowed the team to push performance higher without reducing the bore size, a key requirement for user experiments. The achievement signals that China now has internationally advanced capabilities in applying high-temperature superconductors to large-scale scientific instruments.

Regular metal wires heat up when current flows, and this heating limits how strong a magnet can run. A superconductor, a material which carries current with no resistance, avoids that heat and allows far larger currents. Cold temperatures keep the material in that special state, so the magnet can stay powered without wasting electricity. Even so, high fields push the materials close to failure, and one weak spot can force a fast shutdown. Getting higher fields will require stronger conductors and sturdier supports, since forces rise fast as magnets scale up. Teams involved in the project have already pointed to a next target of 40 teslas in a larger bore. Lower operating costs will matter just as much, because refrigeration and power controls dominate the budget for user access. Each improvement turns a high-field magnet from a headline into equipment which other scientists can rely on daily. Beyond raw strength, stability and reliability, the value of an all-superconducting user magnet lies in its ability to deliver high performance. Such systems operate at extremely low temperatures, where electrical resistance drops to zero. This allows them to maintain uniform magnetic fields for long periods while consuming relatively little energy. “For example, it can stably maintain its maximum magnetic field for more than 200 hours, and can be well integrated with extreme experimental conditions such as ultra-low temperatures and high pressures,” said Luo Jianlin, a researcher from the Institute of Physics under CAS. “This enables a wide range of experimental measurements, including nuclear magnetic resonance, specific heat, and magnetostriction, greatly meeting the needs of the research community,” he said.

To reach record fields, designers nested a smaller insert coil inside a larger outer coil. The inner coil used a high-temperature superconductor, a superconductor which works at warmer cryogenic temperatures, to add extra strength. Around it, more traditional superconducting coils carried the bulk current and helped the field stay smooth across the bore. This layered approach lets each material handle what it does best, but it also complicates cooling and protection. As field strength climbs, magnetic forces squeeze and twist the coils, stressing metal, insulation and support structures. Tight demands for strength, stability and homogeneity turned the whole build into a cross-discipline problem. Wang Qiuliang, a CAS researcher specializing in high-field magnet engineering, noted the challenges facing the project. “However, the development of high-field superconducting magnets involves interdisciplinary integration and faces numerous engineering bottlenecks, with extremely demanding requirements for field strength, stability, and homogeneity,” said Wang. A single crack or warm spot can force a fast shutdown, dumping stored energy as heat. Most record magnets hit a peak for seconds, then fall, which limits what scientists can measure carefully. A steady field lets instruments collect weak signals and filter noise, so the results carry more trust. SECUF treats the setup as a user magnet, a shared magnet open to outside groups for scheduled experiments. This openness forces engineers to think about repeat runs, not just one dramatic moment in the lab.

The magnet is installed at the comprehensive research facility for extreme conditions in Huairou Science City, on the outskirts of Beijing. The infrastructure passed national acceptance in February 2025 and brings together ultra-low temperatures, strong magnetic fields, ultra-high pressure and ultrafast optical systems in one location. Fusion experiments heat a gas into plasma, a soup of charged particles, and magnets must keep it off walls. Earlier, a team in Hefei held 351,000 gauss, or 35.1 teslas, steady for 30 minutes, beating 323,500 gauss. Compared with Earth’s magnetic field of about 0.5 gauss, this run showed how far magnet builders have come. High fields like those make fusion designs more practical, but they still demand cooling systems that never miss a beat. High-field magnets feed research on electric machines which waste less energy, from motors to compact generators. Superconducting coils can carry huge currents in small spaces, letting engineers pack more power into lighter equipment. Magnetic levitation trains and some spacecraft thrusters also depend on strong fields which stay predictable under load. Real-world adoption will hinge on cost and reliability, since large magnets must run safely around people and machines.

Operating alongside other platforms at the site, the new magnet will help scientists probe the microscopic world of matter and accelerate discoveries tied to advanced instruments, medical technologies, energy systems and transportation. “Strong magnetic fields are an important tool for studying materials. They help scientists better understand high-temperature superconductors and quantum materials, and also play an important role in the precise analysis of bio molecular structures and the development of medical technologies such as magnetic-targeted therapy, contributing to disease diagnosis and treatment,” Luo added. China’s latest all-superconducting magnet shows how steady, user-ready fields can move from specialist shops into shared facilities. If engineers can widen the opening and keep costs down, the same approach could power new science and cleaner machines in the world around us.