China approves high magnetic field facility

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China's Steady High Magnetic Field Facility (SHMFF) on Wednesday passed testing by an expert panel organized by the National Development Reform Commission, according to local media.

The SHMFF, located in eastern China's Anhui Province, is a hybrid magnet group that can generate a magnetic field as high as 40 Tesla, one of only two groups in the world with such a capability.

So basically, it's a group of super-powerful electric magnets, and the related research facilities around it.

The logo printed on the SHMFF /CCTV Photo

Why does it matter?

The machine is jointly built by Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASHIPS) and the University of Science and Technology of China.

It took them nine years to build the machine, aiming at providing an experimental environment for fields such as high-temperature superconductivity, quantum materials and life science.

The SHMFF can help scientists examine physical phenomena that are otherwise unavailable.

Engineers calibrate the SHMFF. /CCTV Photo

"It's already been used in more than 100 researches before the panel test," said Wang Yingjian, Party chief of CASHIPS. "The trial operation began in 2010."

A total of 19 accomplishments closely linked to high magnetic fields have won Nobel Prizes since 1913.

The technology is also applied to medical uses like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), where a stronger field can help generate clearer images.

"It's not about the revenue it can generate. It's about the science explorations in our future," Li Yadong, professor at Tsinghua University and CAS member, told Anhui TV.

Li Yadong talks in front of the SHMFF. /CCTV Photo

Scientific ambition

China has been trying to create a world-class research environment with the aim of attracting more top scientists to work in the country.

The "Science Island" in Hefei has already drawn many overseas Chinese back to their homeland.

Click here to find out how seven Harvard researchers feel after spending eight years working on the Science Island.

In addition to the SHMFF, China has also built FAST, the world's largest radio telescope, to peer through space like humans have never done.

The Chinese government created a long-term plan for building facilities on basic science research in 2013, in which it promised more equipment.

Stay tuned to CGTN to find out more scientific developments in China.