Greater 'attraction'

Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, California, have announced the fabrication of the worlds' strongest magnet. The new magnet creates a field of 13.5 tesla which beats the previous record of 11 tesla. The seven-tonne magnet comprises a superconducting alloy of niobium and tin, which is put into copper cable. After thermal treating the new compound, the copper coil is wrapped in stainless steel to make the magnet. The technology might be used to create cheap and powerful magnets using high temperature superconductors ( Science , Vol 276, No 5315).