Submitted by TheLapisBee t3_z80kte in explainlikeimfive
mmmmmmBacon12345 t1_iy9qvam wrote
Reply to comment by Phage0070 in ELI5: why does the i.t.e.r's magnets being cooled? why does it matter? by TheLapisBee
>Instead they are made out of superconducting materials which have basically zero electric resistance.
There's a pedantic but critically important bit here that super conductors have actually zero resistance as long as they're below their critical temperature which means they don't dissipate any heat which is what lets them carry the crazy currents needed for the strong magnets
As soon as any part passes the critical temperature its resistance becomes not zero, it starts dissipating a ton of power, the helium nearby flash boils, more of the magnet heats up, and everything comes crashing down in a sad magnetic quench that tends to damage everything
So the magnets are cold because if they're not super cold then they're resistors not magnets and they instead get super hot
druppolo t1_iya0s5d wrote
Like throwing a cigarette into kerosene, one degree less and it’s all fine and one degree more goodbye room.
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