# Scientists blow up their lab after creating strongest magnet ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 1, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448 "2023-01-01T04:02:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/1 "2023-01-01T04:02:08Z")
And in other news. [Link](https://www.freethink.com/science/strongest-magnet-ever) > This compresses the magnetic field into a tiny area extremely quickly. But, as the team predicted, it can’t be compressed for long, eventually creating a shock wave that rips the instrument apart. They expected this to happen after about 700 teslas, as that’s what it was built to withstand. But incredibly, it reached 1,200 before exploding. This was one of you, wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/2 "2023-01-01T04:56:21Z")
Look, my magnetic field strength calculations were correct. It wasn’t my fault that Renaldo overcharged the capacitor bank. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/3 "2023-01-01T05:06:08Z")
The [Insane Clown Posse](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/miracles-fucking-magnets-how-do-they-work) decided to do some science? 😉 (NSFW language in the link) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/4 "2023-01-01T05:17:26Z")
How does one distinguish between the intensity of a magnetic field as opposed to its overall magnitude? The Earth has a magnetosphere extending tens of thousands of miles into space; the hospital’s MRI scanner, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/5 "2023-01-01T05:41:20Z")
For reference, this magnet reached 1,200 Tesla. A magnetar may reach 100,000,000,000 Tesla. They still have a ways to go. > [@Lumpy](#): > > How does one distinguish between the intensity of a magnetic field as opposed to its overall magnitude? You can measure the energy if you wish. It’s roughly the field strength times the volume. For Earth, [it’s roughly 3x1016 J](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40948-015-0006-y). I don’t know what this one peaked at, but it must be 5x106 J as an upper bound, since that’s the size of their capacitor bank. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/6 "2023-01-01T06:27:36Z")
Misleading headline. Not your fault, the article is bad too. They blew up their instrument, not their lab. But I bet they had fun doing it. Which is really the whole point of NSF: to ensure scientists have fun at work. So it was totally worth it. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/7 "2023-01-01T06:40:13Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > A magnetar may reach 100,000,000,000 Tesla. They still have a ways to go. Well, if scientists re-created the magnetic field of a magnetar on Earth, they’d wipe out all life on a continental scale , so let’s hope they don’t do that any time soon or any place close. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/8 "2023-01-01T07:10:51Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > For reference, this magnet reached 1,200 Tesla. A magnetar may reach 100,000,000,000 Tesla. Here’s a video posted on BBC Earth’s Facebook page comparing the lab magnet and a magnetar. Sorry, I can’t seem to find it anywhere else online. [https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth/posts/pfbid0oi2rbko5ykmWBfzMro2n5m3t2M6dcaXZ4qx2GHnEWs4aV9wSZg4qBXPdyMXHfGwZl](https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth/posts/pfbid0oi2rbko5ykmWBfzMro2n5m3t2M6dcaXZ4qx2GHnEWs4aV9wSZg4qBXPdyMXHfGwZl) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/9 "2023-01-01T08:06:23Z")
So how many of them got superpowers? ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/10 "2023-01-01T13:52:04Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > How does one distinguish between the intensity of a magnetic field as opposed to its overall magnitude? The Earth has a magnetosphere extending tens of thousands of miles into space; the hospital’s MRI scanner, not so much. The earth is a dipole, so IIRC from baby E&M it decreases in strength with the cube or the radius. I don’t what kind of equipment the folks in question were using, but the field outside of a solenoid like in an MRI is very low. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/11 "2023-01-01T16:23:22Z")
Actual footage of the experiment: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xVEj36ABsVU/hqdefault.jpg "Breaking Bad magnetic scene in police station||season5 ||episode1") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVEj36ABsVU) ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/12 "2023-01-01T16:30:27Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Well, if scientists re-created the magnetic field of a magnetar on Earth, they’d wipe out all life on a continental scale , so let’s hope they don’t do that any time soon or any place close. Which is why we must continue to appease the mighty magnetar with an annual offering of seven young men and seven young maidens. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/13 "2023-01-01T17:01:29Z")
And $7B of NSF funding. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/14 "2023-01-01T18:42:57Z")
If I accidentally stuck a magnetar to my refrigerator, what would be the best way to get it off? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/15 "2023-01-01T19:30:28Z")
Goo Gone. That stuff’ll remove anything. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/16 "2023-01-01T19:42:33Z")
Oh, the magnetic field of the magnetar is going warp the electron clouds of the refrigerator’s atoms. I don’t think there’ll be much of a refrigerator to remove it from. The problem solves itself. ---
**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 1, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/17 "2023-01-01T20:17:02Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > For reference, this magnet reached 1,200 Tesla. A magnetar may reach 100,000,000,000 Tesla. To perhaps put that into better context, the energy density of a magnetar’s magnetic field is about a thousand times as dense as lead. OK, that’s a terrible context. Humans can’t comprehend that kind of density, even for matter, and it’s just ludicrous for a field. But it at least illustrates just how far beyond human experience it is. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > You can measure the energy if you wish. It’s roughly the field strength times the volume. Energy density in an electromagnetic field is proportional to the square of the field. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/18 "2023-01-01T20:56:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Energy density in an electromagnetic field is proportional to the square of the field. Good catch (I knew I should have done the unit analysis). Which makes the magnetar comparison all the more incredible. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/19 "2023-01-01T21:00:35Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/915DIqG-hPc/hqdefault.jpg "Wile E. Coyote builds a 10 billion volt electro-magnet") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=915DIqG-hPc) ---
**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 1, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448/20 "2023-01-01T21:11:47Z")
OK, that clip is much more plausible than the one @solost posted. That’s perfectly good cartoon physics. It’s just lousy live-action physics. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientists-blow-up-their-lab-after-creating-strongest-magnet-ever/977448.md?page=2)