# How strong is the world's strongest magnet? (man-made) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 28, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409 "2009-01-28T18:35:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/1 "2009-01-28T18:35:53Z")
I was watching ‘Modern Marvels’ on the History channel a little earlier, and it was a show on Magnets. They showed some of the magnetic cranes at junkyards, but nothing much bigger. From my own memory I remembered a ‘Mythbusters’ episode where they had some magnets that each had like 2500 lbs of force, which if they were brought together they would pinch whatever was in between w/ 5000 lbs of force, or something like that. So this sparked 3 questions in my head, I’m sure w/ our qualified dope group we can get answers here. 🙂 1.) What the strongest man-made electro-magnet, and what kind of power does it have? 2.) Would magnets work differently on another planet, with a different magnetic field? 3.) Do magnets do anything when they are outside of an planet’s magnetic field? ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/2 "2009-01-28T18:46:34Z")
WAG: Electromagnet for an MRI ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/3 "2009-01-28T19:05:52Z")
[http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/09/11/strongest-magnet.html](http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/09/11/strongest-magnet.html) [http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/extreme\_machines/1280796.html](http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/extreme_machines/1280796.html) Google anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/4 "2009-01-28T19:09:45Z")
1. I don’t know what the strongest is, but I’ve personally seen an 8 Tesla electromagnet in operation in a physics lab doing NMR research. 2. Magnets generate their field, independently from the planet’s. 3. Yes, magnets function independently from the planet’s field. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/5 "2009-01-28T19:13:11Z")
The strongest magnets are electromagnets that are fired by discharging a bank of capacitors into them. They are so powerful that even though they are made out of heavy steel bolted together, they get destroyed after one shot. They are used to study materials in high magnetic fields. Magnets don’t “work” differently in a vacuum or on another planet, although they won’t interact with a non-existent magnetic field on a planet without an iron core. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/6 "2009-01-28T21:16:19Z")
A [30 tesla](http://news.softpedia.com/news/World-039-s-Strongest-Magnet-51174.shtml) magnet along the lines that **beowulff** talks about is currently being built in Berlin. It will come online in 2011. Florida State University’s National High Magnetic Field Laboratory claims to have a [45 tesla](http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/usershub/scientificdivisions/dcfield/hybrid/index.html) magnet, though. Both institutions claim to be the world’s strongest. (Perhaps the Berlin one isn’t a hybrid magnet?) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/7 "2009-01-28T21:39:24Z")
> [@](#): > > The strongest magnets are electromagnets that are fired by discharging a bank of capacitors into them. They are so powerful that even though they are made out of heavy steel bolted together, they get destroyed after one shot. They are used to study materials in high magnetic fields. Actually, they’re designed to be destroyed, since the process of destruction is part of how they get the field so strong. The basic idea is that you start with a more-or-less conventional strong electromagnet, and then you use high explosives to implode it and squish all of the magnetic field into a much denser concentration. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/8 "2009-01-28T21:42:36Z")
So, how big a magnet do I need, to pull an ocean liner into my floating island? ---
**Author:** ![kapntoad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@kapntoad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapntoad)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/9 "2009-01-28T21:52:47Z")
> [@Mr\_Buttons](#): > > I was watching ‘Modern Marvels’ on the History channel a little earlier, and it was a show on Magnets. They showed some of the magnetic cranes at junkyards, but nothing much bigger. I was watching a bit of that too, today. Later in the episode they showed what was then (~2002) the world’s strongest magnet, which they used to magnetically float a frog. I don’t believe they ever gave a specific strength, other than “A million times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field.” ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/10 "2009-01-28T22:05:08Z")
What’s the biggest, strongest horseshoe-shaped magnet that’s painted red and white like in Wile E Coyote cartoons? ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/11 "2009-01-28T22:18:51Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > What’s the biggest, strongest horseshoe-shaped magnet that’s painted red and white like in Wile E Coyote cartoons? The one in _Roger Rabbit_, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/12 "2009-01-28T22:28:27Z")
For the un-asked-for cosmic comparison, magnetars can have field strengths of around 10^10 Teslas. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/13 "2009-01-29T00:31:34Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > What’s the biggest, strongest horseshoe-shaped magnet that’s painted red and white like in Wile E Coyote cartoons? The biggest Magnetic Horseshoe can be found in Australia. It’s roughly one and one half miles across. [Magnetic Horseshoe](http://www.magnetic-island.com.au/horseshoe-bay.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/14 "2009-01-29T01:02:46Z")
Forgive me for a complete non sequitur, but the fact that a neutron star can have a magnetic field of 10[sup]12[/sup] Gauss just boggles me. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/15 "2009-01-29T01:05:20Z")
Fierra bought me a (roughly) 1.5 Tesla-strength rare-earth magnet. A giant thing, that is so dangerous I have to store it in a special corner of a downstairs room in a box. And it did injure me, yes, why do you ask…a fireplace poker swung out as I walked by and got me. ---
**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/16 "2009-01-29T02:09:34Z")
not strictly an answer to your question, but I LOVE the ominous and frightening warnings at this [supermagnet retailer](http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnets.htm): > [@](#): > > If carrying one into another room, carefully plan the route you will be taking. Sensitive instruments like computers & monitors will be affected in an entire room. Loose metallic objects and other magnets may become airborne and fly at great speed to attach themselves to these magnets. If you get caught in between the two, you can be severely injured. These magnets will crush bones in the blink of an eye. > > Two of these magnets close together can create an almost unbelievable magnetic field that can be incredibly dangerous. Of all the unique items we offer for sale, we consider these items the most dangerous of all. Our normal packing & shipping personnel refuse to package these magnets - our engineers have to do it. This is no joke or exaggeration - and we cannot stress it strongly enough. You must be extremely careful - and know what you’re doing with these magnets. > > Two Supermagnets can very easily get out of control, crush fingers and instantly break ribs or even your arm if opposing poles fly at each other.A small child recently lost his hand when his father left two # 31 supermagnets unattended. The child picked one up and when he approached the other magnet on a nearby table, it became airborne and obliterated his small hand. ---
**Author:** ![terrymiff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@terrymiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terrymiff)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/17 "2009-01-29T08:56:43Z")
The Large Hadron Collider is 8.33 T. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/18 "2009-01-29T10:48:08Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > A [30 tesla](http://news.softpedia.com/news/World-039-s-Strongest-Magnet-51174.shtml) magnet along the lines that **beowulff** talks about is currently being built in Berlin. It will come online in 2011. Florida State University’s National High Magnetic Field Laboratory claims to have a [45 tesla](http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/usershub/scientificdivisions/dcfield/hybrid/index.html) magnet, though. Both institutions claim to be the world’s strongest. (Perhaps the Berlin one isn’t a hybrid magnet?) And so when they turn these magnets on and point them to each other thru the earth, can they dig the first Trans-Atlantic Chunnel? ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/19 "2009-01-29T13:05:17Z")
Okay, please fight my ignorance and tell me what possible uses there are for magnets of the sizes discussed in **Capt. Ridley** ’s post? Considering how many important scientific discoveries have come about by accident, do we really need those boffins playing about with toys like this? Convince me these people know _exactly_ what they are doing! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409/20 "2009-01-29T13:08:34Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Okay, please fight my ignorance and tell me what possible uses there are for magnets of the sizes discussed in **Capt. Ridley** ’s post? > > Considering how many important scientific discoveries have come about by accident, do we really need those boffins playing about with toys like this? > > Convince me these people know _exactly_ what they are doing! So people should be doing things at random, trying to discover things by accident? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-is-the-worlds-strongest-magnet-man-made/483409.md?page=2)