The magnet will enable researchers to study the molecules in their naturally occurring form, which, Palladino points out, more closely resembles a living system. According to Dr. Stanley Opella, professor of chemistry, the magnet, unlike conventional ferrous magnets, is actually made of miles of thin superconducting wires wrapped tightly around a small hollow core. The magnet is then suspended in a thermos-like container in a bath of liquid helium. It is the first magnet of its power ever installed in an academic institution. Superconducting magnets utilize a phenomenon called superconductivity to produce extremely strong and focused magnetic fields.
Superconductivity occurs when electrons move virtually without resistance through special materials.
To achieve superconductivity, materials must be cooled to temperatures that approach absolute zero, a theoretical limit marked by the complete absence of heat energy. Once the magnet is powered up, the extremely low temperatures sustain the superconductivity and therefore the powerful magnetic field. He adds that the magnet actually produces changes in the nucleus of the molecules under study through a technique called nuclear magnetic resonance. Signals from the altered nucleus give scientists information they can use to measure the position and distance between the nuclei of the molecule. Opella was one of the first researchers to apply the nuclear magnetic resonance technique to study biological molecules.