University of Maryland Three Meter Experiment

The Three Meter Geodynamo experiment is the latest in a series of progressively larger experiments in the Lathrop Lab at the University of Maryland to study how planets generate magnetic fields. We are essentially trying to build planetary cores in the lab. We hope the Three Meter experiment will generate a magnetic field from a rotating turbulent flow of liquid sodium metal. The experiment is now in an assembly and testing phase. When complete it will contain nearly 13 tons (13000kg) of …