Commissioning party of the High Field Magnet at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin
Ready for use: after 8 years of developement and construction the High Field Magnet at HZB attracts the first users.
After about eight years of building and development, we are finally there: At the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, the world’s strongest magnet for neutron experiments is now available to scientists from across the world. The High Field Magnet will be officially put into the service of science at a commissioning party on 7 May 2015. Many research and political representatives and many cooperation and development partners are expected to attend the celebratory commissioning in Berlin-Wannsee.
Programme
The event takes place on Thursday, the 7th of May 2015 at the Wannsee Auditorium, starting 11 AM.
Welcome
- Prof. Dr. Anke Rita Kaysser-Pyzalla, Scientific Director of HZB
- Prof. Michael Steiner, former Scientific Director of HZB and initiator of the HFM Project
- Prof. Gregory Boebinger, Director National High Magnetic Field Lab., Tallahassee, USA
About High Field Magnet
- Dr. Peter Smeibidl, Project Manager, HZB: „HFM - The Important Part of the Story“
- Short Film: „The Berlin High Field Magnet“
Lectures
- Dr. Pierluigi Bruzzone, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland: „Collaborations, Synergies, Friendship“
- Prof. Christian Ruegg, Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland: „New Science with High Magnetic Fields“
Registration
The event is only for invited guests. If you want to attend the commissioning party, please send an email to jennifer.bierbaum@helmholtz-berlin.de
About the High Field Magnet
At 26 teslas, the High Field Magnet at the HZB is the world’s strongest magnet for conducting neutron experiments. Combining neutrons with strong magnetic fields in experiments is enormously useful in basic research. With the High Field Magnet, it is now possible to bombard samples with neutrons inside extremely strong magnetic fields and thus answer burning questions in physics, chemistry, biochemistry and the materials sciences. Among other advances, researchers hope to gain a better understanding of superconductors and other materials with valuable properties. More about the scientific goals.
How the magnetic field is created
The High Field Magnet works on a hybrid magnet principle. Normally conducting and superconducting coils are placed in series and operated under the same current of 2,000 amperes. This configuration reduces the operating costs substantially compared to using only normally conducting magnets. The superconducting coil produces a magnetic field of up to 13 teslas. A complex infrastructure has had to be installed at the HZB for cooling and powering alone. Many cooperation partners from many countries were involved in the development of the High Field Magnet. More about constructing the High Field Magnet.
- Neutron experiment at BER II reveals new spin phase in quantum materialsNew states of order can arise in quantum magnetic materials under magnetic fields. An international team has now gained new insights into these special states of matter through experiments at the Berlin neutron source BER II and its High-Field Magnet. BER II served science until the end of 2019 and has since been shut down. Results from data at BER II are still being published.
- Fractons as information storage: Not yet quite tangible, but closeA new quasiparticle with interesting properties has appeared in solid-state physics - but so far only in the theoretical modelling of solids with certain magnetic properties. An international team from HZB and Freie Universität Berlin has now shown that, contrary to expectations, quantum fluctuations do not make the quasiparticle appear more clearly, but rather blur its signature.
- Solid-State Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Neutrons unveil sluggish charge transportSolid-state Lithium-Sulfur batteries offer the potential for much higher energy densities and increased safety, compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries. However, the performance of solid-state batteries is currently lacking, with slow charging and discharging being one of the primary causes. Now, a new study from HZB shows that sluggish lithium ion transport within a composite cathode is the cause of this slow charging and discharging.