Record-breaking 35.6 tesla magnet

 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.

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Scientists figure out how to turn desert sand into fertile soil

 A new process which turns desert sand into fertile soil relatively quickly

China has invented a method using 3.5 billion-year-old microbes to turn desert sand into fertile soil in just 10 months. These microbes stabilize sand and protect ecosystems, allowing restoration teams to plant shrubs and grasses. The process involves spraying lab-grown cyanobacteria on straw checkerboards, which harden into a cohesive layer that prevents wind erosion. This innovation accelerates the desert restoration process, which typically takes decades, to just a few years. However, long-term protection from vehicles and heavy foot traffic is necessary to maintain the restored surface. Scientists have used lab-grown microbes to bind loose desert sand into a thin, stable layer which wind cannot easily blow away. The stronger surface gives restoration teams time to plant shrubs and grasses before harsh winds and heat wipe out young plants...crusts stabilize sand within 10 to 16 months. On straw checkerboards laid across northwest China, a dark film spread over treated sand and stayed after seasonal dust storms. Tracking those plots through heat and frost, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) documented how fast the film hardened. In trials near the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang in northwest China, CAS teams saw crusts stabilize sand within 10 to 16 months. Even with that speed, planners focused on building the soil base first, so later plants could survive without constant replanting.

When fertile land becomes desert, farmers are forced to leave. Fewer farms means fewer crops, which exacerbates global hunger, particularly in the poorest corners of the world. Chinese want to reverse this process. Using a technique called “desert soilization”, they are turning barren desert into productive, farmable land at an affordable cost and time. Climate change is turning more of the Earth’s land into inhospitable desert. When fertile land becomes barren, farmers cannot grow crops, meaning more hunger, particularly in the poorest parts of the world. Our solution transforms dry plains into productive pastures. We think we have found a solution to rising food insecurity. Long before forests existed, cyanobacteria, sunlight-powered bacteria which thrive in harsh places, likely appeared about 3.5 billion years ago. Using sunlight and air, many strains pull CO2 into their cells and leak the leftovers as simple organic matter. In desert soils short on fertilizer, some species perform nitrogen fixation, turning nitrogen gas into plant-ready nutrients for the crust community. Once they take hold, their living layer binds loose grains and gives the first plants a better place to root. Under a microscope, biological soil crusts, thin living layers on soil surfaces, show a mesh of bacterial threads wrapped around sand grains. To hold that mesh together, cells ooze sticky sugars between grains, and those sugars harden into a thin, cohesive layer. The crust acts like glue by holding sand grains together and helping prevent invasive plants from taking root. Footsteps, tires and hard raking can break the surface, so building crusts at scale also needs long-term protection.

Over the first year, the treated surface began holding nutrients near the top inch instead of letting dust blow away. Mixing with drifting mineral dust, dead cells and leaked sugars formed organic matter which helped trap N2 and P. As nutrients concentrated, more microbes could feed on them, and the crust community became harder to disturb. For seedlings, that change created a better starting point, but survival still depended on rain arriving at the right time. After short rains, a crusted patch kept moisture closer to the surface, while nearby bare sand dried out quickly. Rough pores and dark pigments reduced evaporation, because water stayed shaded and trapped under the thin layer. Moisture held for even a few extra days can help grasses and shrubs sprout roots before heat returns. During long dry spells, the living crust can go dormant, so results depend on climate and careful timing. Soilization mixes a water-based paste with sand and applies it to the desert surface, giving it the same physical and ecological properties as soil, with the same capacity for water and fertiliser retention and ventilation.

Wind provides the harshest test, and bare sand fails it when gusts pick up and carry grains away. After spraying cyanobacteria, bound grains stayed put because the crust linked them, so fewer particles lifted into the air. Lab tests with a manufactured crust cut wind-driven soil loss by more than 90% in controlled winds. Less blowing sand could mean fewer sandstorms and longer-lived roads, but the crust must survive traffic and grazing pressure. With time, the crust changed from mostly microbes to a mixed cover which included lichens and small moss patches. Lichens added a tougher surface, and their slow growth helped keep the crust intact during high winds and cold nights. Moss brought extra height and shade, which let tiny pockets of moisture linger and sheltered new microbes. Once those later partners arrived, the system became more stable, but damage also took longer to heal. As crops grow and roots decay, the soilized sand becomes self-sustaining. The solution is proven, with 1,130 hectares of arable land, already created in multiple locations of Ulan Buh desert, at an altitude of 1100 meters in northern China. The technique is so effective that the yield of some crops increases even up to four times. By converting desert sand into farmable land, the solution provides secure incomes to the world’s remotest communities.

Scaling this method beyond plots forces hard choices about where to spray microbes, since not every dune needs crust. Local strains often handle heat, salt and drought better than imported ones, so teams usually culture microbes from nearby deserts. Because desertification, land losing plant cover and becoming more desert-like, has many causes, crusts cannot solve overgrazing or water misuse. Without protection from vehicles and heavy foot traffic, a restored surface can crumble, and recovery may take years. Behind today’s fast trials sits a record from China which followed crust growth across 59 years of desert recovery. Using crust samples with known ages, the team compared untouched sites with plots treated with lab-grown cyanobacteria. Nutrient gains matched which microbes dominated, and adding cyanobacteria shortened a decades-long process to just years. Even in the best cases, that still meant waiting two to three years for a mature crust which resists disturbance. Fast crust building turns microbial growth into a practical tool, linking desert sand control with slower, plant-based restoration. Long-term monitoring will show whether durability, benefits and side effects hold across different deserts and climates of the world.

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