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<p>Maxim Marchevsky (left) and Soren Prestemon discussing an experimental setup to test the sensitivity of a temperature monitoring system for a high temperature superconducting magnet. </p>

Preventing Magnet Meltdowns Before They Can Start

High-temperature superconductor magnets have the potential to lower the costs of operating particle accelerators and enable powerful new technologies like fusion reactors. But quenches – the sudden, destructive events wherein a part of the material loses superconductivity – are a major barrier to their deployment. Berkeley Lab scientists have developed an approach to prevent quenches altogether, rather than simply trying to manage them after they occur.