Physicists have achieved a breakthrough in magnetic field shielding, creating an “antimagnet” that can hide the flow of magnetic field lines. The Spanish and Slovakian team used a high-temperature superconductor and a ferromagnetic alloy to construct a double cylinder that acts as an antimagnet. The team is particularly proud that no new materials had to be developed for the prototype, which is the size of a thimble. The latest experiments showed that the cooled superconductor was an effective barrier for magnetic fields up to 40 millitesla, without needing to be adjusted for different frequencies. The team modified the cylinder’s casing to prevent the superconductor from being affected by external magnetic fields, using an iron-chromium-nickel alloy that made the prototype almost invisible to static magnetic fields. The team believes the technology could be used in sensitive electronic devices such as pacemakers, aircraft electronics and computers.
The Spanish and Slovakian physicists have developed an “antimagnet” that can hide the flow of magnetic field lines. The team used a high-temperature superconductor and a ferromagnetic alloy to construct a double cylinder that acts as an antimagnet. The prototype is the size of a thimble and no new materials had to be developed for its construction. The latest experiments showed that the cooled superconductor was an effective barrier for magnetic fields up to 40 millitesla, without needing to be adjusted for different frequencies. The team modified the cylinder’s casing to prevent the superconductor from being affected by external magnetic fields, using an iron-chromium-nickel alloy that made the prototype almost invisible to static magnetic fields. The team believes the technology could be used in sensitive electronic devices such as pacemakers, aircraft electronics and computers.
