Tallahassee's National High Magnetic Field Laboratory is getting a new facility to house a 23.5-tesla nuclear magnetic resonance magnet. The NMR magnet will be one of the strongest in the United States and is expected to open the door to a wide range of research.
"We have the ability to do experiments that previously we were not able to do. What you could not absolutely see before, you can now see," says lead researcher Frederic Mentink-Vigier in a statement.
Mentink-Vigier says the magnet could be used to help researchers better understand certain kinds of disease and find cures, or to develop new technology for solid-state batteries.
“It's a significant milestone and exciting news for the MagLab, FSU and the U.S. as a whole,” he says. “What this instrument is opening up is the ability to look at samples with higher sensitivity, and thus to look at the entirety of the periodic table.”
The nuclear resonance magnet is capable of harnessing high magnetic fields and radio waves, allowing researchers to study elements on a molecular scale across disciplines such as biotechnology, energy, advanced manufacturing and health. It's set to be installed in 2028 and will become available for researchers to begin using the following year.
The project is funded through an $18 million grant from the National Science Foundation.