Superconducting Magnet vs Permanent Magnets: What Are the Pros and Cons?

Magnets are in many of the devices we use on a regular basis. They're used in the doors of our freezers and refrigerators, they power the speakers on our stereos and earphones, and are even used in data storage for our computers. Different magnets are used for different devices depending on the need for that device. This includes the magnets in NMR spectrometers as well.

But what is the difference between the magnets used in benchtop spectrometers and those used in traditional high-field NMR spectrometers? Here, we'll dive into the use of superconducting magnets and permanent magnets and the pros and cons of each.

What are the benefits of superconducting magnets?

Superconducting magnets are a type of electromagnet. They're made from coils of superconducting wire and need to be cooled to cryogenic temperatures while they're being used. They can create intense magnetic fields because, when the magnet is in its superconducting state, the wire surrounding the magnet has no electrical resistance. This gives the magnet the opportunity to conduct much larger electrical currents than the average electromagnet.

While superconducting magnets are great, they can be expensive to operate because of the energy lost as heat in the windings. Non-superconducting electromagnets are used more often in scientific equipment such as NMR spectrometers, MRI machines, and fusion reactors.

What are the benefits of permanent magnets?

Permanent magnets are created from a material whose atoms have been permanently aligned to create a persistent magnetic field. As a result, permanent magnets always have a magnetic field and display their attractive behavior at all times.

Permanent magnets aren't as powerful as superconducting magnets. However, this isn't a bad thing. Because permanent magnets are less powerful, it offers them a competitive edge because they give others access to NMR spectroscopy in the form of a smaller device: benchtop spectrometers.

That being said, both superconducting and permanent magnets have their advantages. But permanent magnets make it easier to use NMR spectroscopy for convenience's sake. When they use permanent or electromagnets, NMR spectrometers range from 60 MHz and 100 MHz and are capable of generating spectra that can be analyzed efficiently at a fraction of the cost and time of high-field spectrometers.

Interested in learning more about benchtop spectrometers or purchasing one of your own? Contact Nanalysis today for more information on our low field NMR spectrometers and their various applications.